Caught in the Middle
by Xelskyr
Summary: Naruto happens upon an unconscious girl who just happens to be a kitsune. Now he has to keep her safe with help from agents of the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Surveillance. Can Naruto handle being thrust into a world of magic, demons, danger, and romance
1. Chapter 1: The Two Foxes

**Caught in the Middle**

Chapter 1

The Two Foxes

**Disclaimer: **...yeah, I don't own Naruto.

Alright, here it is, my first official jump into Naruto. I couldn't wait to put this up!

Not much to say right now, the story will explain itself. Just keep in mind that Naruto has pretty much zero fighting ability in this story compared to other characters right now. It's just bare knuckle fist fighting for him right now. Don't worry, that'll change soon enough.

Let's get to the Naruto goodness!

* * *

A dark night in Konoha city; for most it was just another rainy night, a time to settle in with ones family, or to relax after a hard day or work. Not for one particular person in the downtown area though, she was in a different situation entirely. It wasn't every night that you get shot at out of no where with no explanation, but that was exactly what was happening.

A young girl, long red hair, wearing a pair of loose jeans and a red T-shirt ran down the wet sidewalks of the city streets. She ducked as another silenced round whizzed past her head. She knew coming here was a mistake, but she didn't think anything like this would happen.

She turned a corner into an alleyway and jumped onto the chain-linked fence in an attempt to escape her attacker. She felt a sharp pain hit her lower left leg and she fell to the ground, hitting the back of her head against the hard concrete. She groaned and rolled over on her stomach and tried to push herself up.

As she raised her head, she saw her attacker up close. He had a hooded cloak over his head and held a black pistol with a silenced barrel. He lowered his firearm to her head and prepared to squeeze the trigger, when a second gunshot rang out and hit the cloaked man in the left shoulder.

He fell over, but quickly rolled to his feet and looked up to examine the interloper. He wore an even darker cloak with red cloud patterns, and he held a white pistol without a silencer. He fired at the newcomer, only to have him seemingly disappear.

Once he was gone, he turned his attention back to the girl, only to find that she'd escaped. He clenched his fist and threw his pistol against the brick wall next to him, then stormed off into the darkness, holding onto his wound.

Only a few streets away, our favorite blond was walking home in the rain, a frown on his face under his umbrella. He hated the rain, it was so depressing, luckily he'd been watching the weather before he left and came prepared. It was ten o'clock and he was late to get home as it was, and grandfather Sarutobi was gonna be pissed as it was.

Yeah, he was an orphan, no mom, no dad. His grandfather…well, adopted grandfather anyway, said they both died in a car crash when he was little, so he'd spent the vast majority of his sixteen years alive with him. He was cool guy; well educated and kind, but when you got on his bad side, well…just hold onto your ass.

He'd been hanging out with a few of his friends from school; Sakura, Kiba and his girlfriend Hinata, and Haku. They'd all gone to go see a movie, but the show started late, so he was out an hour later than he would have liked.

So here he was, walking slowly down this street in the rain, not a cab in sight, and more than a few blocks before he got back to the suburbs. Did he mention he _HATED_ the rain?

Just when he thought he might go mad from the sheer boredom this day had thrown at him, he heard a barely audible groan come from one of the alleyways. He looked over and saw what looked like a girl lying face down on the concrete next to a dumpster.

Without a second though, he dropped his umbrella and ran over to her. The first thing he noticed was an obvious bullet wound in her leg, and more bleeding from the back of her head.

He was about to turn her over when he heard her give a more audible exhale, presumably slipping into unconsciousness, and suddenly more was added onto her body. He nearly had a heart attack as he watched her literally sprout a furry tail and two fluffy ears on her head.

At this point, he was up against a wall, wondering what the hell was going on. He racked his brain as he thought about what to do. What was he supposed to do; he could call 911, but what would he tell them, 'hey, I just found a girl with a tail and a bullet wound in an alleyway, come help'?

First thing was first, he should probably get the bullet out. Fortunately she was already unconscious, so hopefully she wouldn't feel anything. He ripped her jean leg a bit and located the metal projectile. It looked to be in one complete piece, so with a sickened expression, he dug his index finger and thumb into the wound. After a few unsuccessful tries, he finally got a hold of it and yanked it out.

He then ripped off the right sleeve of his T-shirt, and used it as a makeshift bandage. Once that was done, he flipped her over. As he picked her up, he actually blushed a little at how pretty she was. She had silky smooth red hair and the perfect tone of skin with a small line of freckles running over her nose.

He ran through the streets again, the girl in his arms, heading back to his home. However weird this situation was, his grandfather wouldn't ever turn away someone in need, especially if they were injured. He was interested however, to see just who this girl was.

Meanwhile, back in the Konoha suburbs, Sarutobi was enjoying a quiet evening in his living room, reading a new book he'd bought the day before. He normally didn't get to read because of Naruto, the rambunctious teen was always a handful. Even now he was causing trouble, and he wasn't even there! He was supposed to be home an hour ago, but then again, he was never home on time, especially on a Friday night.

He was startled when the front door suddenly shot open and his grandson ran into the house. He quickly put his book down, ready to scold him for being late, _again_. That is, until he saw that he was carrying a clearly unconscious girl in his arms.

"Naruto, what's going on?" he asked.

"I just…found this girl in a…alley. I think she was…shot," he panted.

"Then why didn't you call an ambulance?"

He set her down on the couch, forgetting the she was soaking wet.

"Just look at her!" he shouted, pointing.

The old man got up and examined the girl, and instantly caught onto what he was talking about. The young lady had a tail, not to mention two small animal like ears on her head. He unconsciously stroked his beard.

"You say you found her in an alley?"

He nodded quickly.

"I think she's some sort of government experiment, or maybe an alien!" he said, actually sounding a bit too excited.

"Naruto, regardless of what she is, I think we should call the authorities."

"What, no! Grandpa, don't you get it? If they find her, then the governments gonna show up, and then they'll take her off to Area 51 and she'll get dissected and stuff! I know how this stuff goes down, I've seen the movies!"

Sarutobi shook his head and chuckled to himself.

"Your imagination is running away with you my boy. I'm sure they wouldn't do anything like that."

Naruto wasn't having any of it. He stepped between his grandfather and the girl, determined to find out just what she was from her mouth, and he couldn't do that if she was shipped off to the middle of no where and had her guts cut open.

"No way gramps, she's staying here. I'll let her have my bed, I'll take care of her, you won't have to worry about it at all!"

Sarutobi knew better than to try and fight Naruto's hardheadedness. It wouldn't matter what he said, he would remain adamant about his opinions. He found no way to win, so he gave in on the matter.

"Fine, fine, but she's your responsibility until she's healed."

Naruto sighed in relief. "Thanks grandpa. I'll get her settled in."

He quickly picked her up in the same manner he brought her in, and carried her up the stairs to his room. Sarutobi chucked again and sat back down in his chair, he hoped that grandson of his knew what he was doing.

Upstairs, Naruto cleared his bed off, throwing his book-bag onto the floor and smoothing out his blanket. He gently placed the redhead down on his bed so he could get her set up before leaving her to sleep. He went into his bathroom and grabbed a thermometer. He placed it in her mouth and took her temperature, it was a little over one-hundred; she was running a small fever, probably from the rain.

He re-entered the bathroom and gathered up some supplies. He grabbed some gauze for the wound on her leg and head, and a wet cloth for her fever. After adjusting her pant leg some more, he was able to properly dress the wound on her leg, and easily covered the wound on her head. Once he placed the cloth on her head, he covered her with his blanket.

With his guest finally settled in, he walked over to his desk and flipped open his laptop. He checked his e-mails, there were none, so instead he got on his IM account to see who was on. Sakura and Kiba were online so he decided to jump in.

_**IM screen:**_

_Gold-Fox10__ has logged in_

_Cherryblossom285__: hey Naruto_

_InuzukaDawg7__: sup man_

_Gold-Fox10__: hey guys_

_Cherryblossom285__: you get home okay? You live farthest from that theater._

_Gold-Fox10__: ya, no prob. Might be some interesting developments later, but right now we're good_

_InuzukaDawg7__: ???_

_Gold-Fox10__: long story, I'll tell ya tomorrow_

_InuzukaDawg7__: so we still up for the mall tomorrow then? I've gotta pick out an anniversary present for Hinata and I need both of you to help._

_Cherryblossom285__: ya, ya, we know you're clueless and all_

_Gold-Fox10__: lol_

_InuzukaDawg7__: I'm serious :(_

_Cherryblossom285__: sorry_

_Gold-Fox10__: I'll be there. While we look I can tell ya about this weird thing that happened on my way back. You guys won't believe it!_

_InuzukaDawg7__: gtg, Akamaru needs to take care of business and I've got laundry to do._

_Gold-Fox10:__ I gtg to, stuff to do and all, I'll see you guys L8r_

_Cherryblossom285__: L8r _

_InuzukaDawg7__ has logged off_

_Gold-Fox10__ has logged off_

_Cherryblossom285__ has logged off_

_**End IM screen**_

With that out of the way, he was pretty exhausted from the whole day. He went to his closet and pulled out a spare blanket and pillow he kept around for guests and the like. He plopped it down on the floor and laid flat on his stomach. He was a bit too preoccupied with his thoughts to sleep though, there was too much mystery surrounding the girl he had rescued.

He couldn't help but think that he'd seen something like this somewhere before. Instead of going to sleep, he got back up and accessed the internet. He went to Google and typed in: _girl with fox tail_. Most of the links he got were of some stupid clothes line or myspace pages, but about four pages over, he found one that caught his interest. It said: _Info on Kitsune_.

He had no idea why that seemed to stand out to him, considering he had no idea what a 'Kitsune' was. Nevertheless he clicked on it and was brought to a page with a traditional Japanese painting of a lady with fox ears and numerous swishy tails like a fox. He instantly became interested and read the mountains of text below. He read the first area, _Kitsune Basics_.

It read:

_**Kitsune**__ is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore, kitsune usually refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives._

_Foxes and human beings lived in close proximity in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto Kami or spirit, and serve as his messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity._

Naruto was enthralled in the information, and if this was actually correct and the girl was a kitsune, then she must not be very old or powerful as he could only see one tail. To be prepared just in case, he skipped some of the historical data and moved onto the _Characteristics_ section of the site.

It said the following:

_Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. They are a type of yōkai, or spiritual entity, and the word kitsune is often translated as fox spirit. However, this does not mean that kitsune are ghosts, nor that they are fundamentally different from regular foxes. Because the word spirit is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, all long-lived foxes gain supernatural abilities._

_Physically, kitsune are noted for having as many as nine tails. Generally, a greater number of tails indicates an older and more powerful fox; in fact, some folktales say that a fox will only grow additional tails after it has lived 1,000 years. One, five, seven, and nine tails are the most common numbers in folk stories. When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold. These kyūbi no kitsune gain the abilities to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. Other tales attribute them infinite wisdom._

_A kitsune may take on human form, an ability learned when it reaches a certain age — usually 100 years, although some tales say 50. As a common prerequisite for the transformation, the fox must place reeds, a broad leaf, or a skull over its head. Common forms assumed by kitsune include beautiful women, young girls, or elderly men. These shapes are not limited by the fox's age or gender, and a kitsune can duplicate the appearance of a specific person. Foxes are particularly renowned for impersonating beautiful women. Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a fox._

Now this was just starting to freak him out. Not only could that girl over there be old enough to be his grandmother, but he couldn't even be sure if it was actually a girl or not! He wished…she? He'd just go with 'she' for now. He just wished she would wake up and answer his questions, he had so many now.

How old was she? Did she have more than one tail? What were her powers like? Was she even a she?

He'd just have to wait until she got better to get his answers. Until then, he'd best get some sleep, he still had stuff to do tomorrow and it do him no good if he was exhausted from lack of sleep. With one last look at the 'girl' on his bed, he slipped under his covers on the floor and went to sleep.

* * *

Morning came before Naruto knew it, and he wished it hadn't because he was still tired. Then again, he had more than a few reasons to get up today. First off, he checked on his patient; she was still running a fever, though it seemed to have already gone down a peg or two. He changed the bandage on her leg, only to find the wound already healed, as well as the one on her head.

This girl was just full of surprises wasn't she? Still, it only reinforced the obvious fact that she was one of those kitsune that he read about. He shrugged and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hit the can. After he was through with that, he exchanged his grey T-shirt for a white one with a graffiti pattern of a leaf on it. He kept his jeans the same; he always wore jeans, who would be able to tell the difference?

He stretched and yawned, then began to gather his things. He put his Ipod, cell phone, and a little cash into his pocket, then went to check his computer before he left. He decided that before he left he'd print out that kitsune information he found on the internet, which he had luckily saved to a file in his documents.

The papers quickly slid out of his printer, and he stacked them neatly on his desk next to his computer. He was about to leave when he heard a groan come from behind him. He looked back and saw that the girl was finally starting to stir a little. She moved her hand up to her head and began to rub her eyes as she slowly rose up. Naruto moved back over to his bed and gently pushed her back down.

Now that she was up and moving, Naruto was amazed at how much better she looked. Her hair seemed much shinier than yesterday; her skin wasn't as pale either, gaining a healthy amount of color. Her eyes were a deep blood red, and she seemed quite thin. In contrast to her relatively thin and small body, her chest was…disproportionate to her body to put it lightly. Nothing that would cause, say, back problems, but it was none the less impressive, and Naruto couldn't help but stare, despite his goal to avoid becoming another teenage super-perv.

Regardless, he still forced her back down gently, she was probably still weak and not ready to move around so much.

"Hold up there, you just got shot yesterday, and you've still got a fever," warned Naruto.

"Huh?" she groaned.

"W-where…am I?" she asked weakly.

Naruto smiled his trademark grin. "You're at my house. The name's Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet ya!"

She began massaging her forehead again and began trying to sit up, and again Naruto tried to stop her.

"Didn't I just say to lie down?" he scolded.

"I'll sit up if I want, thank you," she shot back.

Naruto crossed his arms. "Is that any way to thank the guy who saved your life?"

"I'd hardly call it that, I would have been fine regardless," she protested.

"Not with the fever you were running last night; another few hours and it could have been more serious. Like it or not, you're still not ready to be moving around, so lay down and shut up fuzz-ball!"

Her eyes shot open after Naruto called her that. "W-what did you call me?"

"Seemed like a good nickname considering the tail and all," he said plainly.

She looked behind herself and saw her tail swishing around, then felt her head, and sure enough, there were her fuzzy ears as well. She cursed under her breath and clenched her fist.

"You're a kitsune, right?" he asked with his usual tone of general curiosity.

"How did you know that?"

Naruto walked over to his desk and grabbed the papers he printed out just a minute ago. He brought the stack over and showed it to her.

"It's the magic of the internet. I just looked up 'a girl with tail' on Google and a site popped up about kitsune, so I stayed up and read it."

She huffed. "I doubt much of that is true."

"Well lets fine out shall we?"

He brought the papers up and started skimming through the paragraphs until he found the ones he wanted answers to.

"Alright, it says here that kitsune's age and power is determined by their number of tails, am I on the money?"

She sighed. "Yes."

"Okay, one for one. Now, it also says that you can transform into humans no matter your age or gender," he said, reading the paper further.

She snorted. "That one's a load of bull. We have one set human appearance and one set fox appearance, that's it."

He mentally sighed. '_Whew, that's a relief. At least I know she's a she now_.'

"Okay, so let me ask you this. How old are you exactly?"

Before he even knew what hit him, the kitsune's fist impacted his cheek and he was thrown across his room. He rose from the floor in an instant with a pissed look on his face.

"What the hell was that for!?"

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?" she asked, though it was more of a statement.

"So you decked me!?" he shouted.

"I mean come on, cut me some slack! It's not like I can tell just by looking at you! You could be anywhere from my age to…like…two hundred!"

She sighed heavily again. "Fine, if you really have to know, I'm only one hundred sixty-five years old."

"_Only_ one hundred sixty-five, you're older than my grandfather and I put together!"

"Kitsune live longer than humans do. You're paper told you that I'm sure," she said plainly.

The blond scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Oh yea, forgot about that."

The red haired fox demon sighed and hopped up onto her feet off his bed. She wobbled a bit and tripped, luckily Naruto was there to stop her fall. She blushed a little at her clumsiness, but shook off the momentary embarrassment.

"I'm telling you, just stay in bed. You're still not entirely over that fever," the teen insisted.

"I'll be fine. Besides, you and I have business to attend to."

"Huh? What business?"

"One thing we kitsune pride ourselves in is repaying our debts. You _did_ help me, so I owe you a debt of gratitude. What's your request?"

He shook his head. "No debts, it's on the house."

She grabbed him by his collar and yanked him down to her level –he just noticed he was a few inches taller than her- staring straight into his eyes.

"I don't think you get it. It's kitsune law to repay debts. Until I perform a deed of equal or greater value, I'm physically bonded to you, we can't be more than one hundred feet from each other," she said in a frustrated and grave tone.

"You serious!?"

She nodded. "Now just let me repay my debt so we can go our separate ways."

Naruto broke free of her grip and walked around his room, scratching his head. What could possibly equal him saving her life other than her saving his life? He wasn't going to put himself in danger just to get rid of her; it had more cons than pro's. If what she said was true, and he had no reason to doubt her word, he was probably going to be stuck with her for a while.

"I don't think I can come up with anything that would equal me saving your life, sorry."

She smacked her forehead and groaned. "I'm not staying stuck with you, now either come up with something or I'm gonna kill you!"

"I can't! I want to alright, but I'm not throwing myself off a bridge just so you can save me and we can go off in separate directions!"

She was on the verge of screaming. "I haven't known you for five minutes and you're already the most annoying human I've ever met!"

He was getting pretty frustrated as well, but was interrupted when his phone started ringing. He flipped it open, and heard Kiba's voice on the other end of the line.

"_Dude, where are you, we've been waiting for a half an hour."_

Naruto looked down at his watch, it was eleven o'clock; he was late! He sighed, this day just got more and more complicated.

"Hold on a minute man."

He turned his attention back to the kitsune.  
"Okay look, I've gotta go meet my friends at the mall. Seeing as you're bonded to me or whatever, you'll just have to come along. Is there any way you can just hide your tail and stuff?"

She nodded. She made a series of odd symbols with her hands and just like that, her tail and ears were gone in a poof of smoke.

"That'll work."

"Alright Kiba, I'm on my way now. I'm gonna have to bring along a…friend though, is that cool?"

"_Sure, sure, just get down here! I have no clue what to buy and every second counts!"_

"Right, I hear ya. I'll be there in ten minutes tops. See ya."

With that, he flipped his phone closed and walked towards his door. The redhead followed close behind. Naruto suddenly stopped at the stairs and crouched down, and motioned for her to do the same. She complied, but was curious.

"What exactly are we hiding from?"

"My grandfather stupid, if he knows you're awake, then we'll have to explain all sorts of crap, and I don't feel like dealing with it. Just move slowly and quietly, no sudden movements."

The pair slowly sidled down the carpeted stairs, careful not to make a sound. Luckily, Sarutobi was in the kitchen at that particular point in time. With some stealthy footsteps they made their way to the door, grabbed the car keys, and snuck out of the house. Naruto quickly slipped into the driver's seat, careful to close the door slowly. One the two of them were in the car, he turned the key and backed out of the driveway, his grandfather none the wiser.

"Don't you think your grandfather will eventually notice you've taken the car?"

He grinned. "Eventually ya, but we'll deal with that when we get back."

Naruto drove through the suburbs, downtown Konoha could be seen in the distance and the traffic was slowly becoming more of a hindrance. Naruto saw it as an opportunity to ask a few more questions.

"So I never caught your name," he said suddenly.

"It's Karen."

He tried to hold back a snickered, but failed miserably. She glared at him with a strike of anger in her red eyes.

"Just what the hell is so funny!?"

"Your name, it means 'sweet'."

She was becoming extremely aggravated with his behavior.

"What's wrong with that!?"

"Its just that, sweet isn't the word I'd use to describe you."

She glared at him with those red eyes that seemed like rubies with a bright flame inside them, it almost made the blond a little nervous.

"If you weren't driving I'd punch you again."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I kind of got that vibe. I like your name though, it's nice. At least you're not named after a ramen topping."

"I'm assuming your parents liked ramen if they named you after a topping."

He shrugged. "I guess, gramps always _did_ say my dad was a bit of a ramen freak. I guess that passed over to me because I love the stuff."

"Where are your parents anyway?" she asked.

"I'm not sure of the exact position in meters or miles, but I do know they're somewhere in West Park Cemetery."

"I…oh…I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I honestly can't even remember their faces; I was only like three weeks old. I suppose it was lucky, it saved me the pain of getting to know them, _then_ losing them. At least this way it doesn't hurt as much."

Karen sighed and looked out the window. She couldn't help but feel a little connected to him all of a sudden; after all, they were on the same boat.

After a few more minutes of downtown traffic, they pulled into the malls parking lot. Naruto was lucky enough to get a spot near the front of the mall, and locked the doors after they both exited the vehicle. He could see Kiba, Sakura, and Haku all waiting near the front doors, and waved to them.

Kiba was wearing his favorite grey hoodie and a pair of dirty old jeans. Of course, all his clothes were usually dirty; he did work at an animal shelter. Sakura was wearing a red T-shirt with cherry blossom petal designs on it, as well as a skirt. Lastly, Haku was wearing a dark blue long sleeve shirt and black cargo pants. Naruto has suggested on several occasions that he finally get a haircut because his hair was so long it made him look like a girl, but so far he hadn't listened.

"It's about time you got here dude!" shouted Kiba.

"Sorry, sorry, it's been an eventful morning," he groaned in response.

"Who's she?" asked Haku.

Naruto saw that she was pointing at Karen, and sighed.

"It's a little hard to explain. Through a very unusual set of circumstances and events, she's stuck with me for a while. It's alright though, she's cool," he shrugged.

"Yeah, that's great, but are we forgetting my imminent doom here!?" shouted Kiba.

"Our anniversary is tomorrow and if I don't get Hinata a present then she's gonna think I forgot, and if she thinks I forgot then she's gonna start crying, and I can't deal with that man, I can't!" he yelled, now shaking Naruto back and forth, as if to somehow free a present from his person.

"Kiba, Kiba, settle down, you're going to kill him!" shouted Sakura.

Both Naruto and Kiba were now breathing deeply; Naruto out of relief, and Kiba simply to lower his skyrocketing blood pressure.

"Okay, I'm good, let's go."

Kiba sped into the mall, followed by Sakura and Haku. Naruto stayed behind, not too eager to find out what would happen if he and Karen were somehow separated. The two walked side by side, just following Kiba as he fast-walked nervously down the sections of the mall.

"Interesting friends you have," she grunted.

"Yup, not a dull moment with these guys; Kiba isn't normally like this, but he's pretty attached to his girlfriend Hinata, and he's freaking out about screwing up on even the smallest thing. Honestly, it's been pretty funny to watch," he laughed.

"What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Why the sudden interest?" he asked slyly.

Without hesitation she slammed her fist into his gut, knocking the wind out of his lungs and causing him to double over.

"Don't flatter yourself blondy, I'm just curious."

When he finally regained his composure, he rested his hands behind his head and caught up with her.

"Well to answer your question, no I don't. I'm not really a 'ladies man' type person. Then again, neither was Kiba, so I guess there's hope for me yet, huh?" he chuckled.

"Now Sakura, I have no clue how many guys she's been with. She just can't seem to make it work. As for Haku, I'm honestly not sure; he keeps to himself about that kind of stuff."

She grunted, obviously sounding uninterested. He shrugged and put his hands into his pocket

"Yo Naruto, over here!" called Kiba.

The blond looked over at his brunette friend, who was holding, frankly, a beautiful painting of a full moon in the night sky with shooting stars in the background. Normally this would only be categorized as a 'good' gift, but for Hinata it was perfect. See it all began six months ago when Kiba first asked Hinata out, he commented that her eyes looked like moons because she has ocular albinism, and since then, she's been collecting stuff that had to do with the moon.

She'd actually had her eye on that painting for quite a while, but it had a hefty seventy dollar price tag, and her father wasn't going to "feed the fire" as he called it, by buying her more items for her collection. He wasn't exactly a fan of Kiba, and saw this whole collecting things as just strengthening their relationship. This was definitely going to score him some big points.

"Nice dude, I didn't know you'd saved up that much money! I thought you said you'd have a forty dollar budget tops!"

"Yeah well, I forgot that I hid away some extra cash under my mattress for just such an occasion. Think she'll like it?"

"Dude, she's gonna love this!" he shouted out of excitement.

"Yeah Kiba, since when were you such the romantic?" asked Sakura.

"Hey, I can be a sensitive and loving guy when I want to be! I work at an animal shelter for Christ's sake, that's like, the most passionate and deep job a high school student can get!"

Naruto looked around, noting someone was missing. "Hey, where did Haku go?"

"He said something about a bookstore down a ways, he'll probably show up any time now, let's hit the food court in the meantime, I'm starving!"

"Yeah! You guys thinking what I'm thinking!?"

"Oh God, not Ichiraku again," muttered Sakura.

"You bet your pink haired ass Ichiraku! Let's go pay the old man a visit!" shouted Naruto happily.

This time, Naruto was the one to lead the group. He marched happily like an idiot through the mall. Karen strode behind him, cocking an eyebrow at his stupidity and wondering how a person could make such a fool of himself and not care in the slightest. Sakura was behind her, rolling her eyes at her best friends usual behavior, and Kiba joined in half way there, the both of them making complete asses of themselves in plain public.

"How do you manage to hang out with them?" Karen asked Sakura.

"They may be idiots but they're fun idiots. Underneath all that rambunctious hyper-activeness are actually two really cool guys. We all met back in Elementary school; those two would always be protecting me from bullies who made fun of my hair."

"We all met Haku later in Middle school, he was a new student who knew absolutely no one, so Naruto took it upon himself to show him around, and he just started hanging out with us ever since," she explained.

"I see," Karen said plainly.

"Hey, you guys coming or what!?" called Naruto.

"Yeah, yeah, just slow down!" yelled Sakura.

The two girls ran to catch up with the two boys who were gaining a good amount of distance. Sakura was in a hurry because she was hungry and Karen because of the whole being physically bonded to him for the moment. She honestly had no idea what would happen if they were separated, but she wasn't exactly eager to find out in the middle of a mall, or at all for that matter.

The food court was relatively packed, people taking up random seats throughout the large room. Across the way, Naruto could spot his favorite restaurant; Ichiraku ramen. He was practically jumping over tables and chairs, his mouth drooling, and almost tripped four times. By the time he made it over, more than a few people were complaining and he'd knocked someone's drink over.

The bars owner, Teuchi, was already working on some ramen, anticipating his order. The other worker there, his daughter Ayame, was leaning over the counter, happy to see her favorite customer and childhood friend. Naruto jumped into a seat with his toothy fox grin.

"Hey Naruto, how's our number one regular?" she asked happily.

"Pretty good all things considered; Sakura, Kiba and I are just stopping by for some lunch; we've been shopping for his and Hinata's six month anniversary."

"Where's Haku?"

"Where do you think?"

She smiled and nodded, like she felt stupid for forgetting an obvious fact. Haku loved to read, and would almost always flake on something when he found a bookstore.

"Dude, you could have waited for us!" complained Kiba.

He turned around and saw the three of them finally catching up and taking seats. Kiba sat to his left and Karen to his right, and finally Sakura to the left of Kiba. Ayame caught sight of Karen immediately.

"Aw, did little Naruto finally get a girlfriend?" she asked mockingly.

"No, she's just a friend…sort of. It's complicated, can we not talk about it; I'm hungry?"

"Of course you are, that's why you're here!" said Teuchi. He handed him a bowl of miso ramen, and turned to the rest of them.

"What'll the rest of you have?"

"I'll have pork," said Kiba.

Sakura looked at the menu for a few seconds before deciding. "Vegetable for me."

Karen shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"Don't listen to her old man, just get her miso," said Naruto through his monstrous slurps.

He nodded. "Right then, a miso, pork, and vegetable."

Karen glared at her blond companion again, but he was too busy eating to even notice, so she gave up. Like it or not, she was actually hungry and would have to just suck it up and eat the ramen. She couldn't help but feel a little sick though; at first she thought it was just the fever that she was getting over, but her instincts told her something was amiss somewhere.

* * *

On the other end of the food court, a figure stood leaning against a wall in a black hoodie with his hands in his pockets. He'd been eyeing Karen since she'd entered the vicinity with the others. The one other thing he noticed though was the man in the middle of the court in a formal suit and tie, but at the same time had a mask over the lower half of his face and a bandana wrapped around his head, covering his left eye.

He knew who _that_ man was, and it wasn't a good sign. He freed his right hand from his pocket with his cell phone in its grasp. He flipped it open and hit the speed dial. After a moment of ringing, he heard the slithering snake like voice on the other end of the line.

"_Yes?"_ he asked.

He eyed the man in the middle of the court, and then his eyes fell on the blond next to the kitsune. "Orochimaru…we may have a problem."

**

* * *

Okay, I know that was pretty long, and I'm sorry about that. Unless you like long chapters, in which case, you're welcome. This one will take a little longer to update than the other stories I've done in the past, I can already tell, so forgive me if I don't get these out in a timely fashion.**

**I could use some early feedback, so don't hold back on anything!**


	2. Chapter 2: Why this Girl?

**Caught in the Middle**

Chapter 2

Why this Girl?

**Disclaimer: **FINALLY FREE! FIRST A SPARK! THEN A FLAME! NOW A FIRE! WE EXPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODE!!!!!!! (I don't own Naruto or Rise Against...God I wish I did.)

Okay, Chapter two is up. I gotta say, this is easily my fastest growing story. It hasn't even been up for two days and I've already got reviews and favorites coming out my ass. Thanks you guys.

This one is much shorter than the first one, and so will most of the others. The first was just that long because I was setting up the basic story and introducing most of the main characters. I still am in this one, but there's more action this time, so that's good for you guys.

Oh, and Brilliantteazer, your question will be answer very shortly.

* * *

"Are you sure Orochimaru, its crowded here? I'll be attracting a lot of unwanted attention; the police are bound to show up."

There was a silence on the other end for only a second until the voice returned. "_It doesn't matter, if Kakashi is there, then that means the boy is already under surveillance. Any incident you create will be covered up by the FBPS, and we can't afford to let the girl live. Eliminate her first, then Hatake if you can_."

"What about her friends?"

"_If they get in your way, kill them. Otherwise, leave them be, we don't want things going too far._"

"Understood, I'll contact you again when I'm done."

"_Be sure to do that_," he hissed and closed the line.

With that, he flipped closed the phone and slipped it into his pocked. He moved his hands to his hoody's pockets, and fingered his Glock 18c. It was an automatic handgun, 7.3 inches long, 17 round clip, three round bursts, the gun was nothing special. It was the custom rounds that made this gun so deadly to demons.

They were the standard metal formula mixed with silver and blessed with holy water; the core was a tungsten incendiary compound with traces of white oak which would burn up inside the demons body sending it through their bloodstream. In short, it was effective against pretty much any kind of paranormal threat, and of course was still effective against humans as well.

He came up behind the redhead and slipped out the firearm. Before he could get a clear shot at the back of her head though, he heard a click from behind him and stopped dead.

"You weren't planning on doing anything less than reputable with that now were you?" he asked playfully.

Hearing the voice, the four sitting at the ramen bar turned their heads to see a hooded figure with a gun, being held at gunpoint by a man with a black suit and tie, and a mask over his lower face, along with a bandanna over his left eye, causing his silver hair to slide off to one side. He gave the four kids an eye smile and turned his attention back to their would-be assailant.

"Drop the gun, and then turn around slowly," he ordered sternly.

The figure complied, kneeling down and placing the 18c on the floor then turned around to face the silver haired man. He was holding a Walther P22, probably loaded with the same rounds he had since the man was quite a famous agent of the FBPS. Kakashi Hatake, Senior class supernatural investigator and paranormal surveillance officer, he was among the best of the best. In an up front confrontation like this, he had little chance against him.

"So, who are you with? There are so many rogue demon hunters these days I can't keep track."

He remained silent; the only action he took was keeping his hands in the air. A small crowd was gathering around the spectacle, and Kakashi quickly flashed a badge.

"Not to worry folks, I'm a federal officer! I'm just taking in a criminal here!"

While Kakashi was momentarily distracted, the man took his chance and threw himself at the FBPS agent, knocking him onto the ground. People immediately began to scatter, and Kakashi fired three rounds from his P22. He missed all three shots, the rounds colliding with the ceramic tiled wall. He pushed himself up and gave chase through the food court.

The man he was chasing knocked over chairs and tables in an attempt to impede Kakashi's movement. He was able to nimbly jump over all of them though, and fired at his target. They both rushed out of the mall, Kakashi still right behind him, and they disappeared from view.

* * *

Naruto, who'd been watching the whole thing with interest, eyed the Glock 18c on the ground. Whatever that guy was going to do, Karen was obviously his target, which made it his problem. Without any more thought, he jumped down, grabbed the automatic handgun, and ran out of the food court as well.

Karen, who was unable to be too far from him, ran after him as well, and they both exited the mall. Naruto stopped for a moment and examined the outside, then noticed the black blur of the mans suit as he chased down their almost attacker. Naruto gave chase to them, racing through the maze of cars and vans to catch up. Karen was right behind him, using her fox like agility to flip over the metal vehicles with the skill of an Olympic gymnast.

They ran to the end of the rows and looked around to see where the two had gone next. They heard a few more bangs, and Naruto looked to Karen, who nodded. They both began running towards the direction of the shots.

Kakashi had chased his target down the rows of cars, now behind the mall in a drop-off bay. He'd been caught by surprise and was now on his back, the hooded man holding his P22. He hammer clicked back, and he prepared to fire, when three quick bangs rang out from behind Kakashi. They missed their target, but the hooded man fell over, and he dropped the gun. The blond kid Kakashi had seen earlier rushed over, and punched the man as he tried to get up, and pointed the gun at him.

The momentary victory was just that though, momentary. The mans fist collided with Naruto's cheek, and knocked him over. The man then rolled backwards and grabbed the P22 again. They all stared as he himself realized his hood was down and his face was visible.

Kakashi recognized him immediately, Sasuke Uchiha. The black hair, the onyx eyes, the stoic expression, it was definitely him. He was an up and coming demon hunter who was making a decent name for himself. He showed a lot of potential.

"Sasuke Uchiha, criminal demon hunter," he said nonchalantly.

"Kakashi Hatake, Senior paranormal surveillance officer for the FBPS," Sasuke responded.

"I see we each know each other, how interesting."

Sasuke wasn't really listening though; he was eyeing Karen, who was next to Kakashi. He raised the gun again, aiming the gun to her head and prepared to pull the trigger.

Suddenly Naruto shot up again and punched the raven haired demon hunter and knocked them both over. The blond jumped on top of him a tried to wrench the pistol out of his grip, firing rounds off into the air. When the gun finally ran out of ammo, Sasuke was able to wrench it away and smacked Naruto upside the head with the butt of the grip. He threw the gun away, but was caught off guard as Naruto launched himself on top of him and landed three punches on his face until he thrust his palm up and knocked Naruto off him, causing him to bang his head against the metal wheel of one of the adjacent truck crates.

Sasuke picked up the Glock 18 that Naruto dropped earlier on and raised it to take the blond out, when Karen tackled him. He quickly pushed her off and made a fast escape from the narrow confinement, sliding between the wall and the front of a crate. He ran for it again, but he only got a few paces away before Kakashi tackled him to the ground again.

Still Sasuke was able to wriggle himself free. He somersaulted away and reached into his left pocket and pulled out a red feather. Kakashi's eye widened, catching onto what he was doing.

'_Phoenix feather!_'

He ran at Sasuke, trying to stop him from what he was about to do, but was too late.

"Althielo!" he shouted.

Suddenly he shot into the air and flew away into the distance. Kakashi cursed under his breath, he'd gotten away.

* * *

Naruto was slowly rising, shaking the daze from the blow. He felt the back of his head, and felt a liquid that could only be blood oozing out, the touch of his fingers on the wound sent a stinging sensation through his head and he groaned. He almost fell over again until he felt a hand on his back supporting him and pushing him back up.

"K-Karen?"

"Hold still," she ordered.

She placed her palm on his wound, which hurt immensely at first, but then it began to recede, and it was replaced with a warm comforting feeling. That faded to, but when it did, all the pain in his head was gone. In fact, he felt even better than before.

"What did you…?"

"Kitsune have healing abilities," she said, actually smiling.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden good mood?"

"Nothing…it's just, that was the second time in two days you've saved my life. At this rate I'll be stuck with you forever," she laughed.

He gave her a thumbs-up. "Maybe you should start paying me."

She shook her head at his nonsense. "Don't count on it blondy."

She looked down noticed that she was still holding Naruto, and he seemed to notice as well as he cleared his throat and began to blush. He pushed himself up and stood, walking out to confront that guy in the suit.

He saw him standing in the middle of the parking lot, looking up at the sky. The black haired guy was gone, and everything had quieted down.

"Hey, who the hell are you!?" he shouted as he approached him.

He looked away from the sky and over at the blond, and waved. "Yo."

"Yo!? Is that all you have to say!?"

He put up both his hands and motioned for him to settle down. He reached into his suit and pulled out a leather holder with a gold badge on it.

"My name is agent Kakashi Hatake, Senior class paranormal surveillance officer for the FBPS; the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Surveillance. The man who attacked you was Sasuke Uchiha, he's a criminal demon hunters."

He reached into his jacket again and pulled out a small book and threw it to Naruto. He flipped through it and saw the pages with several photos, one of them of the same person who'd been shooting at them.

"We call it a Bingo book, standard for all FBPS agents" he said, snapping his fingers and somehow transporting the book back into his hand in a puff of smoke. One he squared it away, he walked up to Naruto and patted him on the shoulder and gave him an eye-smile.

"That girl you're with, you're bonded with her right?" he asked.

Naruto nodded.

"Hm. Well, for now, try and keep her out of trouble, she's more important than you know," he explained.

"Here," he said, handing him a silver and blue earpiece that looked like a wireless Bluetooth headset, "keep that with you and stay safe, I'll be watching."

He gave them a small salute and another eye smile. "Later."

He snapped his fingers again, then he just poofed into a cloud of smoke and disappeared; Naruto meanwhile just stood there with a confused look on his face.

"Who the hell was that kook!?"

"Beats me, but that was definitely unnerving, I think that Sasuke guy was the one who attacked me last night to," said Karen.

"Think so? Why would he want to kill you though, you didn't do anything?"

She shrugged. "Who knows, you humans don't make any sense to me."

"I'm not sure if I should feel offended or complimented," he laughed.

"Oh well, lets get back inside, I'm sure everyone's worried sick."

She nodded and followed him back to the front of the mall. There were people coming in and out of the food court, all in suits like Kakashi's. As they walked past, the few agents that did stop to examine them shrugged or nodded and let them pass. Inside, the court looked like nothing had ever happened, everyone was eating and laughing. Naruto looked around and saw Kiba, Sakura, and now Haku all seated back at Ichiraku's.

He ran up to them and gave them all an incredulous look. Sakura was the first one to turn around and see him.

"Oh, hey Naruto, where'd you go?"

He just stood there with a gaping mouth.

"How did you…we were just…didn't you…argh! We were just shot at, you know, the guy in the hoody, the government agent, you don't remember that!?"

She laughed and shook her head. "That's one crazy imagination you've got."

Karen put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "It's a Memory Reconstruction charm, they don't remember a thing. None of them do."

"Are you kidding me!?" he exclaimed, pressing his palms against his face.

He sighed and calmed himself down. He looked back at his friends, who were simply eating and making idol conversation,

"Oh well, either way I think we should get back to my house. If there are more of those freaks out here, I don't want to stick around."

Karen nodded. "I'd have to agree."

"Hey guys, I'm heading home! I got stuff I gotta do!" he called.

"Alright, bye Naruto!" waved Sakura.

"Later man!" yelled Kiba.

Haku didn't say anything, but waved him goodbye as well. Naruto and Karen exited the food court again and walked down the rows of cars until they came up on Naruto's car. As the blond unlocked the driver side door, he was a black plastic box sitting on his seat. He reached in and picked it up, there was a note attached.

_Mr. Uzumaki,_

_In light of your current situation, we at the FBPS feel that you should keep this on your person at all times. Please be careful with it. _

_Inside is a copy of the latest and most up to date Bingo book; to help you identify any potential threats._

_We remind you, this is to be used for protection only. Above all else, keep the kitsune girl safe, she is extremely important._

_-Agent Kakashi Hatake_

_Federal Bureau of Paranormal Surveillance_

Naruto eyed the box questionably, but decided to open it anyway. Inside was a gun just like the one Kakashi had been using, a Walther P22 (The standard 3.4 inch barrel version). Next to it were five clips of pre-loaded ammo and a small book. Also, there was a laser sight attachment and a sound suppressor lay next to the gun. Naruto's eyes widened and quickly closed the box.

"What's the hold up over there?" asked Karen.

"I got a box from those suit wearing weirdo's," he said as he unlocked the doors.

He sat down in the seat, as did Karen, and he set the box down between them. Karen eyed the box as well, and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"It's a gun. Apparently I'm your bodyguard or something now."

She sighed and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms.

"Hm, I was expecting at least a little complaining," he said while turning the keys in the ignition.

"I would be more upset if I weren't already stuck with you. I guess I'm alright with it for now, you seem to have a knack for saving my life as it is."

"Yeah, I guess," he said he backed his car out of the parking space and drove out onto the street, "Of course I wasn't expecting a demon hunter and a crazy government agency when I found you in that ally."

"You're regretting you decision then?" she asked, actually sounding a little hurt.

"Hell no; even with all this crap that's happened I'm still glad I picked you up. I couldn't just leave you in the rain to fend for yourself, what kind of bastard would do that?"

She huffed and turned to her side.

"What's your problem? What did I say this time?"

"It's nothing," she grumbled.

Naruto didn't buy any of it.

"Hey, if there's something going on here that I'm not getting, I think I have the right to know. I'm part of this whole mess now."

"I've already told you everything you_ need_ to know, nothing more, nothing less."

"Alright, jeez."

Naruto continued his drive home, but still couldn't shake the feeling there was way more to her than she was letting on.

* * *

Back in the suburbs, Sarutobi was reading a newspaper in his kitchen, frustrated with his grandson's sudden disappearance. That boy had no idea what he was getting himself into.

He turned his head when he heard a knock on the door, and rose from his seat. He walked into his living room and swung open the door and saw a familiar face. The silver haired FBPS agent that was Kakashi Hatake stood at his doorstep with his usual lazy expression, calmly reading a book.

"You're still reading that filth I see," Sarutobi chuckled.

"With all due respect sir, what you call filth, I call romantic intrigue," he countered.

He shook his head with a grin. "Well, please come in Kakashi. My door is always open for a friend."

He stepped aside as Kakashi walked into his home, squaring his book away back in his jacket. He hadn't changed much since the last time he had come to visit. He was still lazy, indifferent for the most part, and a bit of a pervert.

"Please, have a seat," Sarutobi said, taking a seat on his couch.

"Thank you," he nodded, taking a seat on a chair across from the couch.

Sarutobi wasted no time in getting to the bottom of his old friends appearance. "So, what is it that you want Kakashi? It isn't everyday I get a visit from you."

He crossed his legs and sighed. "Well sir, I…"

"You don't need to call me sir anymore Kakashi. I retired from the Directors seat twenty years ago; Tsunade is the only one you need to answer to now."

"While it's true I was only fifteen and still a Junior surveillance officer when you retired, I still respected you the most as an FBPS Director," said Kakashi.

Sarutobi smiled. "Thank you, and I do enjoy your occasional visits, but on to more important matters."

"Very well; I ran into Naruto at the mall only a few minutes ago. It seems that he's been bonded to a kitsune."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, he brought the girl home last night. I had hoped that the bonding hadn't been completed, but by the time he'd gotten her home, it was too far along for me to stop. It seems he's done a good job of healing her."

"Yes well…it seems they've been targeted by one Sasuke Uchiha. I don't know his motives or if he's working alone or not, but he made an attempt on her life today in plain sight, which makes me think he has some sort of back-up."

"Really…you intervened didn't you?" he asked, a hint of fear behind his stern voice.

"Naturally, though Naruto was a large help. He took on Sasuke with mostly just his bare fists."

Sarutobi smiled and nodded. "Yes, he's a bit too brave for his own good. A trait he inherited from _both_ his parents."

"Anyway, the kitsune he's bonded to, the FBPS has been looking for her for quite some time."

Sarutobi raised an eye in curiosity. "Why is that?"

He paused for a moment before answering. "She's the daughter of the previous Kyuubi no Kitsune, the previous nine tailed fox, who as you know, is the leader of the kitsune people."

Sarutobi looked down and shook his head. "I don't know how I could have missed it. She's demon royalty; I should have known."

"She needs to be protected, not only from demon hunters, but her own people," explained Kakashi.

Sarutobi stroked his beard in surprise. "Her own people you say?"

Kakashi nodded. "Apparently you've been out of the loop longer than I thought."

"Well, there's been a coup against the royal kitsune family recently. No one knows how or why this even started, but the Kyuubi no Kitsune and her husband were…brutally murdered to say the least. Their daughter was lucky enough to escape."

"I see," Sarutobi muttered, "that is a problem."

Kakashi nodded again. "As she's the last remaining heir, no one else can take the throne; a charm put in place millennia ago prevents it. Everyone is, literally, gunning for her."

"What an unfortunate turn of events. We've been on such good terms with the kitsune since the peace accords, but all that is in jeopardy if she's killed."

"Exactly, and Naruto is the perfect person to protect her."

Sarutobi shook his head. "No, I won't let him get sucked into this like his parents did."

"Sir, he's _already_ sucked into this. He knows she's a kitsune, he knows about the FBPS, and he knows about the demon hunters. His life is in danger, and the more he knows, the better," he argued.

"I'd even be willing to instruct him myself. It would be the least I could do; after all, his father was the one who trained me."

Sarutobi sighed and folded his arms. "I'm against this, but I suppose it's too late. His and the girls fates are intertwined now, he needs to be able to defend himself."

"I've already given him some supplies to help keep her safe, and I'll be keeping an eye on him for a while until I can get clearance to train him."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. "You didn't give him a gun did you?"

"Goodbye sir," he smiled as he snapped his fingers, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sarutobi sighed and sank deeper into his seat. Why did raising Naruto always have to be so hard?

* * *

"Argh…damn it," grunted Sasuke.

"Honestly Sasuke, you call this 'treating a wound'?"

"Hn."

Sasuke had just returned to Orochimaru's base outside Konoha city. It was in the middle of the woods, well hidden in a mountainside. Sasuke was currently getting his wounds treated by their 'doctor' Kabuto. He wasn't as much a doctor though, as he was perhaps a butcher or a mad scientist. He took after Orochimaru regarding his love of experiments on live subjects that would make most normal humans toss their lunches and send them to mental institutions.

In reality Sasuke was sickened by them both, but then again, they were his only option. Beggars can't be choosers.

He felt a small chill run up his spine as he heard Orochimaru enter the medical room. He was an abnormally pale man, even more so than himself, with crazy eyes and long black hair. He wore a long tan overcoat that was neatly buttoned up and expensive black shoes.

"How goes the hunt my young friend?" he asked in his slithering voice.

"Not good. Hatake was good, and the blond kid the kitsune was with was no stranger to hand-to-hand combat either. Not to mention my reflexes were dulled thanks to the bullet wound I received the previous night," he said, hopping off the patient bed after Kabuto finished dressing the wound.

"I would have come back for medical attention earlier, but I didn't want to lose her trail."

"Your dedication is admirable my boy. You may have failed, but at least we now know who we're dealing with and the proper amount of force to take. I suppose I can let this little infraction slide by."

"You're so very generous," Sasuke mocked in his monotone voice.

Orochimaru scowled for a moment, but let his anger subside. It was a satisfying change of pace to have an accomplice who didn't quiver in fear of him. The boy was exactly what he was looking for.

"We won't make another move on the girl for a few days, the FBPS is involved now. We need to rework our strategy. Who knows, her own people may even do our work for us. If that is the case though, I would appreciate it if you, Kabuto, could retrieve her body for me. Provided they don't completely obliterate it," he laughed.

The silver haired doctor bowed. "Of course Orochimaru, it would be a pleasure."

With that, Orochimaru walked toward the exit of the room.

"What an interesting turn of events this last day has been," he mused to himself as he rounded the corner out of the room.

* * *

All the way back in the suburbs, Naruto and Karen were both relaxing in Naruto's room. After a lengthy explanation to Sarutobi pertaining to their sneaking out of the house, he agreed to let Karen stay with them for the time being. Naruto believed it was because of their made up story about her having temporary amnesia and not remembering where she was from, but Naruto didn't know about his grandfather's conversation with Kakashi earlier that day.

Luckily he didn't ask about the gun he'd gotten from that Kakashi freak, which was now safely stashed under his bed. He prayed he didn't actually ever have to use it, but kept it with him none the less.

Karen lay on Naruto's bed, and the blond himself sat at his desk playing more Rise Against at Karen's request. She bopped her head to the beat as Naruto did some weekend homework. He was amazed he could even concentrate on anything after all the things that had happened that day.

It was late at night and he couldn't see much of anything past the veil of darkness outside his window. However, he could have sworn he saw a semblance of movement across the street. He leaned closer to the window, but saw nothing and shrugged. It must have been some stray leaves.

What Naruto didn't see however, was the figure standing in the darkness of the night atop the house across from his. He stared into the lit room, eyeing the boy, but also glancing at the real prize, the red haired kitsune.

His black hair and onyx eyes blended with the night perfectly, as did his cloak, which was black with red cloud decals. He fingered the pistol strapped to his upper right leg, considering just breaking in and capturing the girl right then and there. He remembered his mission though; for now it was strictly reconnaissance.

His objective was too keep the girl alive until that annoyance Orochimaru could be eliminated and they could get the FBPS to temporarily turn a blind eye. Still, her being bonded with the boy could complicate things a bit. It wasn't their objective or intention to kill humans, only demons. After all, who would miss them?

In this particular situation however, it wasn't even their objective to kill the girl. Rather to capture her, to gain an upper hand on the kitsune. The beasts would give anything to finally be rid of the girl and appoint a new leader, and that was why they needed her so badly; leverage.

Itachi sighed before sitting down and settling in for an overnight stakeout; he never got the pleasant assignments.

* * *

**OOOOOOOOOOH! Ominous ending! So, all these people are trying to kill/capture poor Karen. Ain't that just a bitch, huh? **

**How's Naruto gonna handle all the pressure? Will Kakashi be able to keep them both safe? Is there more to this kistune coup than we know? Does Karen have more secrets than she's letting on? Are you going to hit me if I ask one more rhetorical question that I'll obviously answer eventually?**

**...Okay then.  
**

**Go on and review some more. Go on, let em rip!**


	3. Chapter 3: Your Responsibility

**Caught in the Middle**

Chapter 3

Your Responsibility

**Disclaimer: **DOCTOR OCTAGONAPUS! BLAAAAAAAAAAAARG!!!! (No I don't own him either.)

Chapter 3 WOOT!

Okay so this chapter is the shortest of the three, and most the the chapters after this one will look like this one in terms of length and amount of words. It's still a super awesome chapter though, so get going and read on!

ATAAAAAAAACK!!!

* * *

It was the dead of night, a little after midnight; Naruto and Karen were both in bed. Naruto of course had his bed, and Karen had taken a second mattress that he'd brought up from his basement. They both slept soundly; Karen unconsciously swishing her tail in her sleep, and Naruto snoring and drooling on his pillow.

It'd been a long day for the both of them. Naruto had been extremely worried about more of those demon hunters showing up and he was even more nervous now that Karen's protection fell on his shoulders. How was he supposed to keep a girl he'd only known for a day safe from highly trained supernatural assassins?

Still, he tried not to worry about it too much. He just had to try his best and believe that things would work out.

Tonight as every night though, no matter how deep a sleep he was in, he always woke up at 12:35 to go to the bathroom. He drearily sidestepped around the kitsune girl, and walked into his bathroom. He flipped on the light and took a seat on the throne. Just as he settled in, he heard a muffled crash.

He shot out of his sleepy daze and re-buttoned his pants, rushing back into his room. At first, he didn't see anything strange at all, but then he noticed that the window over his desk was open. He distinctly remembered closing it before he went to bed.

After what happened at the mall, he wasn't about to take any chances, and moved to wake up Karen. As he reached down though, he felt an arm wrap around his neck and another grab his left arm and put him in an arm-lock.

"Try to wake her and I'll snap your neck," said a clearly feminine voice.

"Who are you?"

"Just a girl trying to make her way in the world," she whispered.

"So you're trying to kill my friend."

Aw, you her little play pal are you? You know, you're pretty cute; for a human anyway," she mused while licking the rim of his ear. It sent a small shiver up his spine.

She jerked him forward and forced him to kneel down. He looked over his shoulder and saw her make a few hand signs like when Karen hid her tail and ears, but in a different sequence. Suddenly his arms and legs felt like five hundred pound weights; he could barely lift them off the ground.

"Now just be a good boy, and once I'm finished maybe we'll have some fun together before I kill you," she giggled.

Naruto struggled frantically to lift any part of his body, but completely failed in his attempts. He watched in a mix of fear, shame, and frustration as Karens second would –be assailant freed a small dagger looking weapon. Its blade was approximately three fourths of a foot long with a handle just long enough for one hand, and a thick ring at the base.

What surprised him most, however, was that he saw two golden-yellow tails swishing from the assassin's lower waist. Another kitsune trying to kill Karen; what the hell was going on?

"Y-you're a kitsune, why would you kill her?"

"Because she's in the way," she said, lowering down to slit her throat.

* * *

Itachi sat up and headed to the edge of the house he had perched up on. It was time for his half hour check up on the kid and the girl. He picked up his binoculars and peered into the room. What he saw was something that he was hoping he wouldn't; a kitsune was in the room.

"…shit, I hate my job," he muttered to himself.

He dropped the binoculars and freed his pistol from the holster on his leg. It was an S&W Model 500 with a custom 10.5 inch barrel. (Yes, this gun actually does exist, look it up, it is a BEAST of a weapon.) It held five heavyweight .500 S&W Magnum rounds, and had enough force to blow off half a human's, or kitsune's, head.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again, revealing them to be blood red instead of their usual onyx black. It was the wonders of the Sharingan nanite combat system. It was a complex system of cellular machines that had a wireless link from his eyes and limbs to his brain, increasing his sense of sight and reaction time as well as his endurance and strength. It was an ingenious system, but only people with specific genetic markers could use it without their bodies rejecting it.

He took aim with his Model 500 and saw a holographic reticule appear in his line of vision. Another advantage to his Sharingan nanites; a small laser target was on the bottom of his barrel which was linked to the nanites in his eyes and brain, allowing them to create a holographic image of where the bullet would end up inside his eyes, and with a 98.74 percent accuracy.

When the holographic reticule was honed in on the kitsune assassin, he squeezed the trigger and let the round fly.

* * *

Naruto growled as the blade was mere centimeters away from Karen's neck and she wasn't even awake to defend herself. She was just about to slide the blade across her skin when they both heard a loud bang from outside the window. Not a second later, the entire left half of the second kitsune's head exploded in a cloud of blood, splintered bone, and chunks of brain.

She fell to the floor limply, landing next to the mattress on which Karen slept, or at least, was sleeping. The noise, which could only have been a gun shot, woke her up. She looked down on the fallen fox-demon until the body seemed to disintegrated into the air, leaving not a spot of blood or gore on Naruto's floor.

Naruto shot to his feet as he felt the weight on his arms and legs dissipate, and ran straight to the window. He strained his eyes but couldn't see anything, it was simply too dark. He growled again and ran to the plastic black box that Kakashi had given him and grabbed the P22. He slammed a clip into the slot and cocked back the hammer, but left the safety on, just so he didn't accidentally shoot anyone he didn't mean to. Whoever that was, she was dead now and they appeared to be safe for the most part.

After a quick sweep of the hallways, he was satisfied that there was no one else in the house and returned to his room. He looked over at Karen, who hadn't moved since she woke.

She sat there, the gore and blood that she saw before the body disintegrated bringing up horrid memories of seeing her parent die. The blood had been everywhere and limbs had been hacked across the room, and that wasn't even the worst of it. She felt tears well up in her eyes and fall down her cheeks. She was so out of it that she didn't even realize that Naruto was kneeling down in front of her.

"Karen, are you okay?" she finally heard him ask.

The memories were still flashing through her mind and all she could do was cry. Naruto's overly caring instincts kicked in and defeated his fear of being hit by her as he wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her into a hug. She was too emotionally shocked at the moment to care about looking weak and accepted it, burying her face in his chest and balling her eyes out.

Normally Naruto would have passed out from lack of blood to the rest of body, as most of it would have been being stored in his face at the moment, but he was too worried about what was going on with her on the inside to care how awkward this may have seemed. He tried everything to calm her down, he even began rocking her back and forth and stroked her hair.

"Karen, what's wrong?" he asked in the quietest voice possible.

She offered no response, only shaking her head. He sighed, there was no way he'd be able to get anything out of her until she settled down, so he repositioned himself so he sat next to her on the mattress and dug in from the long haul.

'_Holy crap, this girl's a water fountain! She's so closed off and now this, what could've done this to her?'_

They sat there like that for the next five minutes or so until he was finally able to make her stop and she settled down. When he let her go, her eyes were extremely red and her nose must have been running because she was sniffing frequently. Naruto put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not going to ask what made you freak out like that, just go to sleep. I'll stay up the rest of the night and make sure no one else gets in here."

Before she could protest, Naruto had already pushed her back onto the mattress and had walked out into the hallway for a quick check of the nearby rooms. Hesitantly, and after one last sweep of the room, she lay back down and went to sleep.

* * *

Hours later, the morning came and Karen rose with a yawn and a stretch. She looked around the room as she cracked her neck and knuckles. No bad guys in sight; that was a relief. Now she just had to figure out where Naruto was, and that was the hard part.

"Hey sleepyhead, finally up?" said a groggy but nonetheless present voice.

She looked up at Naruto's bed to see him sitting up against the wall with the P22 in his right hand, and a huge can of Monster in the other. He slid off his bed, albeit clumsily, and knelt down, pulling out the handguns plastic case. After squaring that away, he took a seat on Karen's mattress and yawned.

She looked at him with an expression mixed with surprise and a little frustration.

'_The idiot actually stayed up all night?'_

A second later, she voiced her thoughts. "I can't believe you actually stayed up all night, what's the matter with you!? You've gotten, like, two hours of sleep!"

He waved her comment off as he took another swig out of the can.

"Please, you act like this is the first time I've pulled an all-nighter. I've done this sort of thing dozens of times. Sure I'm a little out of it now, but my second wind will kick in after a few minutes of moving around."

She sighed angrily but didn't scold him further.

"So, what are we doing today?" she asked dully.

He shrugged. "Beats me, it's Sunday so I usually just stay home and do nothing all day."

He lay on his back and yawned again. Karen looked down at him and still couldn't believe he actually stayed up all night. She honestly didn't expect him to do that. She supposed she did owe him a thanks, he _did_ stay up all night to keep her safe.

"Thank you," she said suddenly.

Naruto looked up with both exhaustion and confusion etched on his face.

"Huh?"

"I guess I just want to thank you for all the stuff you've done for me. You've been a real…friend, to me. I'm sorry I fell apart last night, but that body just brought up some unwanted memories and I really needed a shoulder to cry on; I'm glad you were there," she said, heat working its way onto her face.

Admitting that sort of thing was sort of embarrassing in her eyes, but she was glad that he hadn't mocked her for it.

"Don't sweat it, that's what friends are for," he said, trying to act casual as the comment embarrassed him a bit as well.

"Well, I don't think we should leave the house. After being attacked twice, I don't think being out in the open would be a good idea. We should probably just stay here for a while," said Naruto.

Karen nodded. "I'm fine with that."

"Alright, let's head downstairs for some breakfast. I'll get us some food since I'm pretty much all set for the day anyway, you just do whatever your morning routine is and come down when you're ready. Just remember to hide your tail and stuff."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," she grunted.

Naruto headed out of the room and left her to do whatever she needed to do. He headed downstairs, checking his watch on the way. It was just past nine o'clock, which meant his grandfather wouldn't be up for about a half and hour. He entered the kitchen, already knowing what he was going to make. He open the fridge, grabbing some eggs and bacon along with two pans.

With everything set out, he stepped back and cracked his knuckles.

"Alright...game time."

Upstairs, Karen had already gotten the knots out of her hair, brushed her teeth, and changed her clothes. She was glad she had taken that scroll with her, her old clothes smelled horrid after the events of the previous day. She now wore a pair of tan cargo shorts and a sleeveless shirt that was, of course, red.

All set, she exited Naruto's room and headed downstairs, smelling the strong aroma of meat and eggs. She poked her head in too see what was going on. What she saw was Naruto cooking.

He was shifting from place to place, tending to food, pouring drinks and checking timers. Karen slowly and quietly creptin into the room, not wanting to break him from his fluid set of movements with the distraction of her entrance. She simply sat there and watched him cook, and he was pretty good. He seemed to know exactly what to do for every aspect of whatever it was that he was cooking.

Once he had finally finished with his work, he placed the meal onto plates. He looked back and just grinned.

"Oh hey, I didn't even hear ya come in," he said happily.

"You'll forgive me if I'm not surprised."

At that his smile was replaced by an annoyed scowl.

She sighed. "Relax, I was just joking."

"You're just leaving me in stitches," he mocked.

She shot him an angry glare. "I'l be leaving you in more than stitches if you don't shut it."

"Jeez, alright. Here, breakfast is served."

He placed the plate in front of her and went to sit across the table. She looked down at what he'd cooked; there were a few strips of bacon and some scrambled eggs. It wasn't her _favorite_ breakfast, but she didn't mind. She grabbed a fork that had been placed out for her and ate some of the eggs. To her surprise, they were good, really good.

"I didn't know you could cook," she said, some of her shock reaching her voice.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me," he said with a coy smile.

She gave him a strange look. "What's with you?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, I just have a feeling something exciting is gonna happen soon is all."

"As if it hasn't been exciting enough already."

Again, he shrugged. "Yeah, but I can't really explain it. I've just got a feeling that something important is going on somewhere, and I can't help but think we're involved."

"That's just grandeur talking," she said, biting into a strip of bacon.

He sighed and looked out the window. "Maybe..."

* * *

All the way in Washington DC, a certain FBPS agent was casually walking and reading while on his way to the Bureau Directors office. Kakashi had a few lower ranking officers keeping tabs on Naruto at the moment back in Konoha city; in fact the blond was the reason he was here. He'd asked about Naruto being recruited into the FBPS as a junior class surveillance officer, and now the Bureau Director wanted to discuss it personally.

He came up on the wooden door with a gold colored label on it that read: "_FBPS Director Tusnade Senju_". He gave a few quick knocks on the door and put away his book.

"Come in!" came a muffled voice from behind the door.

With that, he twisted the knob and opened the door. On the other side of the door sat two figures, the fist was the Director herself, a blond woman with a green dress shirt and pants, and a bust that made other women green with envy and the men...well you get where he's going with this. The other was Assistant Director Shizune Nemoto. She wore a black work shirt and skirt that reached to just below her knees.

The FBPS agent took a seat across from the Director, Shizune off to the side.

"Agent Hatake, I assume you know why you're here," she said, folding her hands on her desk.

"Yes ma'am, I requested to recruit one Naruto Uzumaki for the FBPS."

She nodded. "That's what I wanted to speak to you about, yes. You do know who his parents were don't you?"

"Of course, Minato Namikaze, the former FBPS Director before yourself was his father. Kushina Uzumaki was his mother, who was a member of the ANBU Black Ops containment and assault squad."

"That's correct, and that's the problem. It was Kushina and Minato's specific wish that Naruto never be indited into the FBPS."

"I'm aware of that ma'am, but with all due respect, Naruto might as well already be part of the FBPS. He's aware of the supernatural world now, and is bonded to a kitsune who just happens to be the daughter of the Kyuubi no Kitsune who was recently assassinated in the coup. They're both at the top of the paranormal hit-list."

"Are you serious!?" asked Shizune.

Kakashi nodded. "I already have reports of two confirmed attacks on the girl, and I would surmise that there have been more than that. They both need the FBPS's protection, and Naruto his this in his blood. He'd be a natural, just like his parents."

"Ma'am, that girl my be the last shot we have at returning a favorable leader to the throne of the kitsune. Naruto and her are bonded together though a magical link, they can't be separated. It only makes sense that he be the one to guard her."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and sighed. Kakashi made a sensible argument, but did she really want to go against his parents wishes, to suck him into the world they specifically wanted him to stay out of? She reasoned it was a bit too late for that, he was already part of this whether he wanted to be or not. He and the girl both needed protection, and the FBPS were the best people for the job.

She nodded. "Fine, make contact them and bring them both here."

"Thank you ma'am."

"Kakashi!" she called to him before he left, "he'll be your responsibility you know."

He put on an eye smile. "Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way."

**

* * *

And there we have it. I once again apologize about the shortness compared to the other chapters, but as I said, most of the chapters from here onward will probably look like this one in terms of lengths unless there's some real important story development.**

**I still hope you guys liked it.**

**Now go forth and review and all such activities related to it!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Kitsune's Gift

**Caught in the Middle**

Chapter 4

The Kitsune's Gift

**Disclaimer: **meep.

Chapter 4, oh yeah! Action time people, this is the pick up point of the story! Let's jump straight into some good ol' fashion beat downs FBPS/Demon style! Let's see Bruce Willis do half the shit Naruto pulls off in this chapter!

Let's get it on!

* * *

It was late in the Sunday evening; Naruto and Karen were both bored out of their minds. They sat on the couch in Naruto's living room watching some random anime on TV, something about ninjas. The fight scenes were pretty cool, but Naruto thought the main character was annoying as hell; he hated that freakin' catch phrase of his.

Anyway, he got bored of it and hopped up onto his feet, walking idly around the room. He stood next to the mantle over the fireplace and stared at all the knickknacks. There were snow-globes and miniature statues that had accumulated over the years. His grandfather said a few of them were actually from his parents.

That got him thinking about his parents. He knew little to nothing about them at all. He'd never seen their faces or heard their names at all, and when his asked his grandfather about them, he quickly changed the subject. What was it that he didn't want him to know about them?

"Hey Karen," he asked suddenly, "I was just wondering, what were your parents like?"

Her parents were a touchy subject for her. "Why do you want to know?"

"I was thinking about how I never knew my parents, and I guess I just wanted to hear about yours. Maybe hear about what I missed out on." he said softly.

Karen's eyes softened, she could suck it up for him.

"Well, my mother was…a bit of a rash person, always making discussions on the fly. She was a bit short tempered and she took offense easily, but she was also quick to forgive. She was funny and had a great sense of humor. My dad on the other hand, was a bit more organized. He was a calm guy and he preferred his solitude, but he was really smart and was always giving me advice. They were great."

Naruto lowered his head and sighed. Karen rose from the couch, stood next to him and slipped her left hand into his right and squeezed, causing him to blush a little, but continued to gaze at the ground.

"I kinda wish I could talk to them, just once. Just to show them what I'm like, that I turned out okay and stuff, ya know?"

"I think I do."

She watched him stare downward and she felt sorry for him. They were alike, neither of them had parents, but at least she'd known them, had memories of them to comfort her. Naruto had nothing, nothing at all to remember them by.

"You know, it might not be too late. I can't bring them back, no magic can, but I know a way for you to speak to them without any need for magic at all."

He looked at her with an incredulous expression.

"Really, how do I do that?"

"Grab you car keys and I'll show you."

He nodded quickly and ran into the kitchen. In an instant he was back and was running for the door, but was stopped as Karen grabbed his collar.

"Hold up there, I'm driving."

"You can drive?"

She put her hands on her hips and scowled. "Of course I can drive! I'm a hundred sixty-five years old; I learned how to drive years ago!"

He put up his hands defensively and gave her the keys. "Okay, okay, here you go!"

"Thank you," he said sweetly.

The two walked out the door and got into his car. Naruto took the passenger seat and Karen sat in the driver seat. They pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road.

"So, do you even know where you're going?" he asked.

"Of course, I was in this city for a few days before you found me, and I got pretty well acquainted with it. Trust me; I know where we're going."

They continued to drive down the roads of suburban Konoha. Naruto looked around trying to determine where they were going, but he hadn't the foggiest. As far as he knew, he hadn't even been to this part of the city before.

Karen turned the car down another road, this one pretty much devoid of houses. He could tell by the amount of trees next to the road that they were on the edge of the city. Suddenly there was a break in the trees and there was a giant pair of iron gates. Upon them it read: West Park Cemetery.

"Why…are we here?" he asked.

"I thought I told you already. You're gonna talk to you parents. They are buried here right?"

"Well, yeah, that's about all my grandpa ever told be about them, so I remembered it. Talking to their graves though, that's not exactly what I had in mind."

"Just trust me, it may seem weird, but it's therapeutic. I did it with my grandparent's graves and it always made me feel better," she said, remembering all the things that she spoke to them about as a child.

She parked in front of the central building in the cemetery and they both entered the building so they could find Naruto's parents graves. The secretary gave them a smile and stood ready to help them.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she said happily.

"Hi, we're looking for someone; do you have anyone in this graveyard with the last name Uzumaki?"

"Hold on, I'll check our database," she said, leaning over a computer.

After a few seconds she came back and nodded.

"Yes, we only have one person buried with that last name, her name is Kushina Uzumaki."

"Could you tell us where she is?" asked Karen.

She nodded and grabbed a map of the cemetery. She circled a grave on the map and handed it to them.

"Just follow this map and you'll be there."

"Thank you."

The kitsune grabbed the map and headed back outside. According to the map, her grave wasn't too far the building. In fact, it was just across the road and down a little ways. Karen handed Naruto the map and she took a seat on the hood the car.

"You go on, I'll just sit here," she told him.

He nodded and walked off. Once he stopped, he was still in Karen's field of view but she couldn't hear anything coming out of his mouth. She knew eavesdropping with rude and inappropriate, but she was curious. She did a series of hand signs and revealed her kitsune ears, increasing her hearing almost four times over. She could now hear Naruto's words clearly.

_**"Hey mom, it's me…I guess. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say, I don't know the first thing about you. I would have liked to, but it's a little late now,"**_ he started off.

_**"It wasn't even my idea to come here. See, I met this girl…well not so much I met as I saved her. Anyway, she's a kitsune, a fox demon of all things. Weird, I know, but she's not that bad. She's kind of a hot head and she's not the most inviting person, but she's got a cool side. To be honest, despite all the insults she throws my way, I like her. Call it a crush or an infatuation or whatever, but I like her."**_

Karen was a bit surprised she heard that. Sure, they occasionally got into some awkward situations and they were bonded together, but she didn't think he had a crush on her or anything like that. She leaned in closer, as if it would help her hear better.

_**"She's really pretty; red hair and eyes, kinda skinny and a short, but she's got this cute line of freckles on her nose. She's strong to; she punched me when we first met and my jaw is still aching."**_

She blushed at his compliments; he really thought she was pretty? He thought her freckles were cute? Most people made fun of her for them, she always thought of them as a sort of imperfection. She fingered the small dots on her nose and smiled.

"_**She doesn't really like me very much as far as I can tell though, but hey, I've never really been good with girls, so it's to be expected I guess. What really worries me though is it seems like she's hiding stuff from me. As much as I want to know, I know it's none of my business, but I can't help but think it's something important, and I think it's causing her pain. Maybe it'd help her if she talked about it; I'd listen if she told me, but I guess she'll tell me if she ever feels like it."**_

Great, now she felt guilty. She guessed she _had_ been a little cold to him, especially since he'd saved her life twice and was willing to drive himself into the ground for her. Hell, he just stayed up all the night before to make sure she was safe. Why was she such a jerk to him? She was still really bitter over her parent's deaths, but he wasn't the one who killed them, why was she taking it out on him?

"_**Anyway, it was her idea for me to come down here, and I have to admit, it was a good one. It's kind of ironic, I know your name and I'm talking to you, but I've never seen your face before. I wish I'd met you, and my father, whoever he is. I'm sure you were beautiful; I probably got my smile from you to, I can just tell."**_

She sat there, listening to him speak, and it reminded her of just how sensitive and serious he could be. Like when she was in that alley, and he picked her up and cared for her, or hen she was crying after the memories of her parent's murder resurfaced, he held her tightly until she calmed down. She didn't give him as much credit as she probably should have.

"_**I'd stay longer, but Karen, the girl I was talking about, it's not safe to be outside for too long with her. There's some real creeps after her and I'm sorta her bodyguard. Maybe when all this is over, or if I have time, I'll come back again and talk to you. I'm sure when I come back I'll have some cool stories to tell you. Bye mom."**_

She watched him stand up again and her frustration flared for some reason.

'_Jerk, I give him time to talk with his mother and he spends the whole time worrying about me instead of enjoying it! He's so…so…sweet,' _she thought, softening her tone at the end.

She quickly dispelled her kitsune ears and tried to act innocent. In truth, she had a lot to think about now; her eavesdropping gave her some new insight on the blond walking towards her. She wasn't sure of her opinion of him now. Yes, she thought he was a good enough guy, probably enough to call them friends, but did she really feel anything more towards him than that?

She was bonded to him, and probably would be for a while. They'd spent pretty much every hour of the last…almost three days now together, and she'd gotten to know him decently well. She actually began listing his pro's and cons.

'_Let's see; he's brave, already know that. He's definitely kindhearted and a little goofy. He kind of reminds me of my mom in a way. Even I have to admit he's handsome. Then again; he's not exactly the smartest guy in the world, and he worries too much. Are those really faults though? No one knows everything and the fact that he worries just shows that he cares. Damn it, he's close to perfect on paper, what's wrong with me!'_

There was one nagging fact that was tugging at the back of her head though, one of the reasons she knew it was hard for her to get attached to anyone outside the kitsune world; the age difference. It wasn't the fact that she was older than him, she could deal with that, it was the fact that she would age slower. He'd be gone in a few short decades, but she'd still look twenty or so physically well after he was dead. That would make things awkward for the both of them.

She was pulled from her thought though, when she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Ah, I was wondering where that tracking beacon would lead me. Visiting his mother's grave is he?"

Karen swiveled around to see the silver haired Kakashi standing there, reading his book as always. He looked up lazily and gave her an eye smile. Naruto caught sight of him and rushed to the car.

"Hey, you're that Kakashi guy! What do you want!?"

"Relax, I'm here with good news for a change. The FBPS has decided that due to your situation, it would be in yours and Karen's best interest if you were brought to Washington DC and stayed at our HQ. You'll get lessons there on how to become a FBPS surveillance officer so you can protect yourselves better as well."

Naruto scowled and crossed his arms.

"You'll forgive me if I still don't trust you completely."

"I understand, but it's either come with me, or deal with the constant assassination attempt on your own. Do you want that?"

Again the blond scowled. "Fine, we'll go with you."

"Good, my car is parked a little farther down the road, if you just follow…"

Naruto and Karen gave him a confused look as he suddenly stopped talking, and instead locked his eyes on a space behind the two. He slowly moved his hand into his jacket where his pistol was housed.

"Naruto," he whispered, "when I tell you, I want you and Karen to run to the gates of the cemetery; my car is parked there. Drive home and wait for me there."

He dared not speak, but gave him a slight nod. He counted the seconds as the silver haired man slowly freed his P22 and eyed the same space.

"NOW!" he yelled and pulled out his pistol faster than anything Naruto had seen. He didn't waste time to see what he shot at, but he heard a yelp and subsequent whimpers as he pulled Karen down the cemetery road.

The pair ran down the concrete road, hearing loud growls and gunshots behind them as they fled. Naruto dared to look behind them and saw three figures. The one in the lead was Kakashi, who was firing back as he ran. The other two were a pair of more kitsune assassins; they both had three tails this time.

Naruto could see the gates of the cemetery coming closer and closer, but his hopes were interrupted as Kakashi yelled out to him.

"Naruto, get down!" he shouted.

He didn't even register what happened next, but the next thing he knew he and Karen were both on the ground as a flurry of daggers flew over their heads. He looked over and saw that they had been tackled by a third kitsune, this one with four tails. The blond rolled back after the fox-demon rose and he took a defensive stance in front of Karen.

"Relax, I'm here to help," he said, not taking his eyes off the assassins.

Naruto didn't care for more information than that, and pulled Karen down the road again. He looked back every few seconds and watched as the four tailed kitsune and Kakashi stood back to back and faced off against the two three tails.

The pair finally made it to the gates and Naruto yanked them out of the way and they sped to the black car that was Kakashi's. As Naruto headed to the drivers side door, there was a huge crash that erupted in the street. He looked over and saw the kitsune that had helped them was down and the two three tails were on him beating the crap out of him.

Naruto growled and went into his brave guy mode. He rushed toward the downed kitsune and pulled back his fist. He landed the first punch, decking one of the three tails and knocking him onto his back. The second one saw what he did and moved to engage the blond. The second three tails, which was female, nailed him in his gut before he could evade, and he felt the warm metallic like taste of blood in his mouth.

Two kicks to the face and a punch to his chest later, he was on his back bleeding out his mouth and a few broken ribs. He still rose back up and got into a fighting position. The kitsune laughed at his continued defiance.

The female turned back to the four tails and continued beating him down, and the male attacked Naruto. The blond leaned to the side and barely dodged the punch; his knee came up and caught him in the stomach, making him cough up more blood. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and the kitsune held him up on his feet and smiled.

"Time to die, human!"

His eyes widened as the fox-demon thrust forward a fist and he felt the most unique sensation. It was like…a tickle, a burning tickle in his chest that made him want to scream and laugh at the same time. He didn't seem to be able to summon the will to do either though, and instead just looked down. He watched in not so much fear as fascination as the kitsune pulled his fist out of his chest, watching the blood squirt out of the gaping hole where his heart used to be.

As soon as the demon let go, Naruto fell to his knees and collapsed on the concrete. The last sounds he heard were the kitsune's laugh, Karen shouting his name, and gunshots from Kakashi's P22. He slowly and lightly drifted off into a slumber from which he wouldn't awake.

The male collapsed soon after however, as he hadn't heard Kakashi come from behind him and was pumped full of damn near a complete clip of ammo. Karen ran over to the blond and knelt over him, seeing the bloody mess they used to be his chest. Once again memories of her parents flooded her head and she began to fall apart emotionally for a second time. It was only made worse when she realized that this time she wouldn't have Naruto to comfort her, he'd never be able to speak to her again.

All this was interrupted however, when she felt a stabbing pain in her chest as well. Air became precious and she gasped for every particle of oxygen she could fill in her lungs.

"Wha-What's…happening t-to…me?" she said between huge breaths.

"It's the bond; you and he were magically connected. If he dies, you'll die," explained Kakashi, panic evident in his voice as well.

"What!?"

"It's true, y-your survival…is dependent o-on his…and vice versa," murmured the four tailed Kitsune, who'd freed himself from the three tails and rejoined the group.

"Is there anything we can do? Kitsune have a better understanding of magic than humans, even FBPS agents." asked Kakashi.

After a moment, the kitsune nodded. "There is; a flicker of life still remains in his body, there is still a chance to save him. Please stand back."

They nodded and took a few steps back. The elder kitsune began chanting in a language that sounded alien even to Karen. Naruto was suddenly glowing with a red aura and his injuries began to heal themselves; the bone and organs that were destroyed were reforming. Just as his wounds were healed, the four tail fell to his side, leaving them both on the ground. Karen rushed over to check his pulse; he was dead.

She actually recognized the man; he was a royal guard for her family. His name was Kaito. She'd only spoken to him a few times, but she couldn't believe he was here. How did everyone manage to find her?

Still, she was forever grateful for his sacrifice; she wouldn't forget it.

She then turned to Naruto and did the same and found that he was indeed alive. She was just about to pick him up and get him into the car so they could escape when the red aura from before began to envelop him again. He began to levitate upward until he was standing on his own two feet. The aura began to take shape, it was like a second set of red transparent skin; it was in the shape of claws on his hands and feet, had two long ear shapes on his head, and a single tail extending from just above his waist. The aura was in the shape of a kitsune.

As he opened his eyes again, she saw that they were no longer the blue crystals they used to be, but were replaced by burning ruby red ones like hers, except they seemed more feral, more violent than hers. He began to smile, showing enlarged canine teeth, and he took one step forward. That one set sent a shock-wave through the street that cracked the concrete and sent gust of wind in every direction.

In all the commotion, Naruto leaned forward and then disappeared, accelerating beyond the sight capabilities of most living beings, kicking up trails of dust in his wake. Karen watched in awe as he re-appeared again behind the female kitsune and thrust his fist into her back. At first it didn't seem to have any affect, but after a few seconds, her chest exploded, literally exploded, and nearly every internal organ in her torso was blown out of her body. She dropped to the floor as a hollow, bloody mess.

As the second kistune fell over dead, the aura began to fade and he fell onto his back. Just as quickly as he began the fight, Naruto ended it with a _thump_ as he hit the ground. Karen shot onto her feet and ran to him, sliding down next to him and lifted him up onto her lap. She sighed in relief when she found that he was just asleep, whatever that was must have completely exhausted him.

Kakashi came up from behind them and looked down at the blond.

"What was that?" asked Karen.

"I'm not entirely sure. I would assume that when that kitsune healed him, he infused his powers with him as well. Whether it was intentional or not I'm not sure, but it seems like he's absorbed his powers. I don't know what the aura is about though."

"So...what you're saying is, he's part fox-demon now?"

He stroked his masked chin. "Well, I'm not a doctor, so I can't say with absolute certainty, but I would guess it something along those lines, yes."

He sighed and picked the blond up. "Come on, we need to get to the airport; the sooner we get to DC the better for everyone. He should be fine for now."

She nodded and followed him as they headed to the car. Kakashi took his seat in the drivers seat while Karen sat in the back seat with Naruto. The blond was completely out of it, and she let his head rest on her lap again. He looked awfully peaceful when he was asleep, of course it probably didn't help that he hadn't slept the night before.

Kakashi pulled out his phone and said something about a containment team coming to the cemetery. Karen wasn't really listening though, she quietly sat there and toyed with a small lock of Naruto's hair as they drove off to the airport.

* * *

**Okay now, Naruto has officially started his career as professional ass kicker. More story next chapter as we're introduced to more agents of the FBPS. You'll be seeing some familiar faces, of course.**

**Three cheers for demon powers! WEEEEEEEEEE!**

**Review if you please.  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Family Legacies

**Caught in the Middle**

Chapter 5

Family Legacies

**Disclaimer: **Nooooooooo.

Sorry about the longer than usual wait guys. School and all that. I'm stressing over my chemistry grade; short-hand notation of atoms is, for some reason, not my forte. I did learn something useful though; burning copper is fun, try it some time.

Now, let's get moving on this chapter so I can work on the next one!

* * *

Naruto woke with a start, still expecting danger from the last time he was awake. He immediately regretted his action however, because his muscles ached like hell and his head was pounding so hard he was sure his skull would crack open any second. He groaned and fell back into the bed he was laying on.

He turned his head to survey his surroundings. He was obviously in a bed; the room was white for the most part, with a few machines around him; heart monitors, IV equipment and the like. He was in his own private room with curtains drawn on all sides except behind him, which was a solid wall.

He assumed he was in a hospital, the only question was how he got here…and why was he alive? His last memory was getting gutted by that kitsune assassin, then nothing.

"Finally awake, eh?" said a voice to his left.

He looked over to see the silver haired, mask wearing Kakashi sitting at his bedside reading a book.

"Make-Out Paradise? Never would have pegged you as a pervert Kakashi," Naruto grumble out.

"I take offense to that. This is nothing but a romantic novel, so what if I happen to like books aimed at a more mature audience?"

"There's a fine line between romance and porno; you obviously have no concept of it," he shot back.

"Hn; well I'd love to keep discussing this with you, but I have a lot to show you so we'd better get going," he said, closing the book and squaring it away under his suit jacket.

Naruto gave him as much of an incredulous look as he could manage. "How am I supposed to walk, I can hardly sit up?"

"I expected as much, here," he said, taking out a small red pill from his pocket, "this should hold you until until you heal. No need to swallow it whole, you can just chew it, it doesn't taste half bad."

The blond took it and popped it into his mouth, and Kakashi was right, it tasted a little like cinnamon. After swallowing the crunched up pill, he suddenly felt way better; his arms and legs were fully movable again and he was more awake than he had been in the last few days.

"What was that thing?"

"We like to call them Ration Pellets. They're a super-enhanced mix of proteins and vitamins molecularly compressed into an easy to chew pill. The one you ate was a medical grade one, but the military grade stuff can have someone going without food or sleep for three days."

Naruto gave an impressed whistle then hopped out of bed.

"You think I could get some actual clothes?" he said staring down at his hospital gown.

"I took the liberty of grabbing some and laying them down on that chair over there. Once you're done, we'll get going."

He nodded and grabbed the clothes as Kakashi left the room. The clothes consisted of an orange shirt with a black symbol in the front; it was a spiral with a pointed edge coming out of the lower left side and pointed down diagonally. It was weird, but a cool design nonetheless, and he couldn't argue with the color. Next he slipped on some plain blue-jeans, some socks, and his shoes.

One he was done with that, he exited the room where Kakashi was waiting next to a sleeping Karen. The red-head was slumped back in her chair and was snoring lightly. He snickered to himself as he thought of a funny way to wake her up. He jumped into the chair next to her, earning a confused look from Kakashi, and lowered his head next to her ear.

He sucked in as much air as he could until it felt like his lungs would pop, then he let a huge belch blast out his mouth. He had to admit, it was probably the largest one he'd ever pulled off, and the kitsune's reaction was well worth the effort. She shot out of the chair and nearly tripped herself getting up.

Naruto stood up as well, but almost fell over as well from laughing so hard, the look on her face was priceless. His laughter would have continued if not for the fact that as soon as she regained her composure, Karen reacquainted Naruto's face with her fist. The blond was knocked on his ass and slid a few feet before jumping back up rubbing his cheek.

"Damn, just when the pain was going away from the last one."

"What the hell was that about!?" she shouted.

He put his hands behind his head and grinned. "Just having some fun is all," he laughed.

"I stay here patiently waiting for you to wake up and _this_ is the thanks I get; a belch as a wake up call!?"

Naruto waved off the comment. "Oh come on, it's not like you could leave anyway. You forget, we're sorta bonded together and stuff."

"Not that I don't find this reunion heartwarming, but we do have a lot of things to cover," interjected Kakashi.

They both forgot their argument for the moment and nodded. They followed him out into a hallway with a few people who were also in suits walking past. Naruto noticed something odd though; there were symbols on the wall that matched the one on his shirt. That was something he'd have to ask about some time.

"Kakashi, where exactly are we?"

"This is the FBPS headquarters in Washington DC, we're in a secure underground location beneath the Pentagon."

"Really; how long was I out!?"

"About a day in a half," answered Karen.

"A day in a half, are you kidding me!?"

Naruto was so wrapped up in his questions he wasn't looking where he was going and ended up colliding with someone walking through the halls. The both of them were knocked over and Naruto quickly apologized.

"Oh man, sorry, didn't see you there!"

He looked up to see a guy a few years older than him with long brown hair and the same formal suit as everyone else. What he noticed most was his eyes. From what it looked like, he had ocular albinism; hanging out with Hinata for the past few months had made it easy for him to spot. To be honest, the guy looked a lot like her to.

"It's not a problem, I'm in no hurry anywhere," he said calmly.

"Hey, what's your last name?" asked Naruto.

He gave the blond a strange look.

"My last name? It's Hyuuga, why?"

"You wouldn't happen to be related to a Hinata Hyuuga would you?" he pried.

"Why yes, she's my cousin. Do you know her?"

He nodded. "Yeah, her boyfriend is my best friend, so we hang out a lot."

"Hm, I see. Well then, a pleasure to meet you, I am Neji," he said introducing himself.

"The name's Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet ya."

At the mention of his name, Neji's eyes widened in surprise.

"D-did you say…Uzumaki?"

Naruto gave him a strange look but nodded anyway. "Yeah…why?"

Neji then turned to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, is he…?"

"Yes," Kakashi cut in, "he is, and I'll be explaining that to him in a moment."

"I see," Neji muttered as he turned back to Naruto, "In that case, it is a true honor to meet you Naruto Uzumaki. I hope to see what you're capable of after proper training."

With that, Neji passed them by and continued on his way. The whole conversation left him confused but he supposed Kakashi would be explaining things soon enough, so he held his tongue for the time being. They continued walking down the hallway until Kakashi stopped and pulled out a key-card, sliding it into a reader and opened the door.

Inside it was a simple supply room, not a thing looked the least bit important. There were just old boxes of food and a few packets of Ration Pellets. Kakashi paid none of these objects any mind though, and walked to the back of the room until they hit a dead end between two racks of supplies.

Before Naruto could ask what they were doing, he quickly formed the same strange hand signs he'd seen Karen do and then placed his palm on the wall, causing it to disappear and create a new doorway that he'd not seen before. With a bit of apprehension and confusion, he walked through and he was brought into a completely new room.

It was still a dark room about the same size as the supply room, but much less organized. Boxes and books were piled on the floor, and a few of them were a bit crunched up or crinkled. Again though, Kakashi paid no mind to these objects and continued again to the rear of the room where he repeated his actions. This time, instead of a doorway, the front of a wall mounted vault was revealed.

After a quick input of the combination, Kakashi opened it up and reached in. He pulled out two boxes, one long and slender, and the other was more bulky but equally smooth in appearance. The FBPS agent laid them both on the floor and sat Indian-style in front of them, and motioned for the two of them to do the same. They did as instructed and waited for Kakashi to explain what this was all about.

"Naruto," Kakashi suddenly said, "You were visiting your mother's grave when I found you, correct?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'd never done it before and Karen thought it was a good idea. I have to admit, it helped a lot more than I thought it would. I got a few things off my chest that was sort of eating at me for the past few days."

Karen looked away and blushed, remembering all the things she'd heard him say while at the cemetery. Luckily it was dim and neither male paid any mind to her shift in position.

"Well I have something here that I think you might like to see," he said, flipping open the locks on the longer case. He rotated it so that the front was facing the blond and then opened it.

Inside was a long curved blade. It was sheathed in a scabbard that was black with a dark blue stripe going down its side. The hilt was also black with more dark blue, making a simple diamond pattern, but impressive all the same.

"Go ahead, pick it up," said Kakashi.

Naruto nodded and grabbed the blade. It sent a jolt through his nerves, picking up the elegant weapon. He slowly unsheathed it, marveling at its strong steel edge and its glowing silver appearance. Once it was completely freed, he stared in utter awe at the beauty of the blade; it reflected even the smallest amount of light and shown like a star in the night sky. It was so breathtaking he thought he might cry.

"That katana was your mothers in her ANBU days. It was her favorite weapon and she never went on a mission without it. Even though she is no longer with us, had she lived, she still planned on handing this blade down to you. She left me specific instructions to give it to you if something ever happened to her," explained Kakashi.

Naruto was near speechless. "My mother…was an agent for the FBPS?"

Kakashi nodded. "Both your parents were. Both were some of the best, if not the best, that had ever joined the Bureau."

"This…was my mothers," he whispered to himself, feeling a tear slip down his face. To him this blade wasn't his mother's possession; this was a piece of her soul, some of her that he could carry with him no matter where he went. This blade was already more important to him than anything that he'd ever been given before.

"I'll teach you how to use it later, but right now I have something else to show you," said Kakashi.

As much as he didn't want to, Naruto sheathed the blade and placed it back in its case. He turned his attention back to Kakashi as he opened the second more square case. He flipped around just as with the last case. What Naruto saw this time was not a blade, but a gun.

It was black as night, and was definitely a revolver, but it was like no gun he'd ever seen. The barrel was unusually tall, and the handle looked to custom made. It had an impressive iron-sight and had an aura of deadly precision around it.

"This Naruto, is a Wesson PPC .375 Magnum, this was your fathers."

Kakashi picked it up and held it in his hand and freeing the ammunition from inside the weapon. He held up a silver round with strange, deep spiral grooves running all through it, making it look like a sort of drill bullet.

"This Naruto, is called a Rasengan round. The most deadly bullet ever created by man. It's actually based on a spell you father created by the same name. It's an enchanted round that uses a wind based enchantment to create a sort of drill effect around the tip of the bullet. In lay-mans terms, it's sort of like firing a magically enhanced industrial strength mining drill."

"Whoa," was all Naruto had to say.

"This one though," he said, putting it back into its case, "you're going to have to earn."

"What?"

"Your mother left me specific instructions to give you her sword if she was to die, and I could never go against her wish. Your father however, never left me such instructions regarding his pistol. I think he'd still want you to have it in light of your situation, but I want you to earn it. I want you to have something to work for."

Naruto put his hands in his knees and gave him a confident smile.

"Alright then Kakashi, you're on! I'll be the best damn agent this place has ever seen, and once I'm done, I'll get that gun!"

Kakashi gave him an eye-smile in response. "We'll see."

He pulled his sleeve back a bit and glanced at his watched. "Well, we should keep moving; we have an appointment with the Bureau Director in a few minutes. She's eager to meet you both. You're more than welcome to carry your mother's sword with you Naruto."

He smiled a bit and nodded. "Thanks, I will."

With that, Kakashi promptly stood, as did Naruto and Karen. The blond and kitsune walked out into the hallway while Kakashi re-locked his vault and sealed off his personal storage room.

"So, now I know where you get it," said Karen.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "Get what?"

"Ya know, the whole 'taking on a demon hunter with your bare hands' thing, now we finally know why you were able to take him on. You're parents were obviously bad-asses."

He looked down at the case that held his mother's katana. "Yeah well, I'm just happy I finally have something to remember to remember my mother by. Soon I'll have something of my dad's to; if Kakashi thinks he can scare me away with a little work then he's got another thing coming!"

"Just try not to hurt yourself," she said folding her arms.

Naruto eyed her teasingly. "Worried about me are you?"

"No; our bond is two way, if you get seriously hurt, I feel it to!" she shouted.

He put his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay, I get it! It's an improvement at least."

She cocked an eyebrow. "What's an improvement?"

"You didn't punch me this time. Every time I teased you before you'd hit me, you didn't this time," he said with a smile.

Karen immediately became defensive. "I...I just forgot, that's all! You haven't been awake for almost two days, this is the longest I haven't had to nail you in the gut or the head! Don't think for a second I didn't want to though, punching you is the most fun I've had in this entire ordeal!"

He gave her another annoyed scowl, but dismissed the negative feelings when Kakashi emerged from the storage room.

"Alright, let's get moving."

Naruto quickly followed the silver haired FBPS agent, followed by Karen who was feeling a little bad about that sudden defensive outburst. The hallways were made of primarily a dark tan concrete and were never deserted as there was always someone passing by. Kakashi led them to an elevator and they silently stood as the elevator descended further underground.

Once they heard the ding, the doors slid apart, and they were led into an even busier set of hallways. They dodged and weaved their way through the stream of people and stayed behind Kakashi who seemed to effortlessly blend in with the crowd.

Once they reached the end of the hall, there was a door that was labeled: _FBPS Director Tsunade Senju._

He knocked three times and a few seconds later he heard a muffled, "_Come in!_"

He opened the door and the two followed behind him, walking into the directors office. They both looked around the room. It was largely empty except for some bookcases on the walls, some lights on the ceiling, some potted plants near the door, and a desk on the other end of the room with a blond woman sitting behind it. There were three chairs in front of the desk, and they were all motioned to sit.

Kakashi sat to the left, Naruto in the middle, and Karen on the left. Tsunade stood immediately after they sat, coming around her desk and standing in front of Naruto. She bent down and stared him in the eyes, inspecting his face from every angle. After about a minute, she stood back up and smiled at him proudly.

"Well I'll be damned; if you're not Minato's son then I don't know white from black anymore."

Naruto stared back up at her. "Minato...that's my dad's name?"

She nodded. "Indeed it is; Minato Namikaze."

Naruto cocked his head. "Namikaze? My last name is Uzumaki."

"Yes, I know; you were given your mothers maiden name for your own protection. It was actually his idea to begin with, just in case."

"So...if you don't mind me asking, what happened to them? My parents I mean."

Tsunade sighed and went to sit back in her chair. "That will actually be much easier, because your family and Karen's here have quite a history together."

They both looked at each other with mutual confusion, then back at Tusnade, eager to hear more.

"You see, twenty years ago Naruto, your father was the Director for the FBPS, the youngest in history might I add. Back then, humans and kitsune were not on good terms, in fact, war was a very real possibility. The Kyuubi no Kitsune at that point in time, Karen's grandfather, was...less than tolerant of humans. When your father took over however, things changed. For four years he orchestrated a plan to assassinate Karen's grandfather, with the help of none other than your mother Karen," she said, motioning to the kitsune.

She shrugged. "I do remember my grandfather getting killed, but I never heard any of the details. This actually explains a lot. I loved him, but I never did understand why he hated humans so much. It wasn't something I liked, but it was necessary. I don't blame my mother or Naruto's parents for wanting him gone."

"The assassination actually took place only a few weeks after your birth Naruto. Your father, mother, and Karen's mother all confronted her grandfather and fought him. The battle was intense, and it unfortunately claimed the life of both your parents. Your father was given a proper burial, but your mothers body was never recovered; it is assumed there wasn't even anything left to bring back except her sword, which I assume Kakashi has given you already. After your fathers death, I took over as a last favor, and a few days later in honor of their sacrifices, Karen's mother sign a peace accord between humans and kitsune."

Naruto stared down at the floor, but couldn't help but feel pride. His parents had died averting a supernatural war, at least they did something meaningful. He was now all the more determined to be the best damn agent in this place, and to get his fathers pistol. He'd be better than both of them, both of them _combined_! That was his new dream.

Naruto wasn't finished with his questions though, he still needed a lot of answers.

"So, if there are these peace accords, then why are the kitsune attacking Karen? What could she have possibly done?"

Again, Tsunade sighed, pinching the bridge between her eyes.

"Well, it was a few months..."

"Director Senju," interjected Karen.

She turned to face here with a questioning look.

"Ma'am, if you don't mind...I'd rather tell him myself," she said, sadness evident in her voice.

The second blond nodded.

Karen turned to Naruto and sighed; she was already sure she was going to cry.

"Look Naruto, about three weeks ago there was a coup against my mother. A huge uprising of thousands of kitsune assaulted our home and attacked her and my father. They both fought and killed a great number of them, but there was only two of them, and there were thousands of attackers. They were overwhelmed by numbers...and killed."

That hit home, and suddenly everything fell into place. That was why she was always so angry, it made perfect sense.

"I got away with a few guards help, and a fled here. The other kitsune want me dead because I'm the only one true heir left. Since I'm still alive there can't be another Kyuubi no Kitsune unless I achieve all nine of my tails, or I die. The demon hunters want me dead because honestly, who could resist a chance to kill demon royalty. I was on my own until you found me."

Naruto sat there awestruck. "Wow...Karen I'm...I'm so sorry. Here I was whining about my parents and I didn't even know that..."

"Stop Naruto...just...don't. Don't feel guilty over me, things are bad enough as it is. Don't lose sleep on my account," she said, trying not to let the tears slip out.

Tsunade leaned forward and spoke again. "I realize this is hard for you, but now that Naruto his bonded with you, you're going to have to be more open with each other. He's going to be your personal guard after he completes his basic training. He needs to know everything you can tell him."

She sniffed softly and nodded; Naruto nodded as well, practically clawing the chair in anticipation for his training.

"That is all we need to discuss for now. Naruto, you will be living on this base for three months so Kakashi, and occasionally other Senior agents, can train you."

He nodded. "I can't wait to get started, bring it on!"

"Hm, well then, that's all for now, you're all dismissed."

They all nodded and stood. As the trio left, Tsunade smirked to herself and leaned back in her chair.

'_He's so much like Minato it's scary._'

* * *

As they stood outside Tsunade's office, Kakashi turned to Naruto.

"Well, let's not waste any time. I'll take you to the nearest gym and I can help you out with that sword, that is if you want to use it in combat."

Naruto nodded furiously. "Of course, I'm aiming to be better than my parents, I think a great place to start would be to master my mothers fighting style!"

Kakashi gave him another one of his eye smiles. "A lofty goal, we'd better get started."

As they set out again, Naruto looked back at Karen, who smiled lightly and nodded. He didn't like just getting started right after everything she'd just revealed, but he'd make it a point to talk to her about it later. Something told him she really wanted someone to vent to, even if she didn't say it out loud.

For now though, Naruto focused on learning how to use his mothers blade, and followed Kakashi to his first lesson.

**

* * *

Alright, everything is out in the open now. I tried to make everything fit into this modern setting, and I hope I did a good job of that. If not, well just promise not to yell at me.**

**Next chapter will be fuuuuuuun!  
**


	6. Chapter 6: New Puzzles

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 6

New Puzzles

**Disclaimer: **Blah blah blah.

Sorry about the super long wait guys, I got so much shit going on right now. I've had bowling team tryouts, overdue homework, preparations for a robotics competition, CHEMISTRY! Anyway, I'm back and the new chapter is here, so enjoy.

* * *

The gym that Kakashi had chosen for their training was well equipped. There were weights, treadmills, sparring mats, everything you'd need to get into shape. As the three of them entered the room, Naruto caught site of…well a very odd pair of individuals. They seemed to be sparring using some sort of hand-to-hand martial arts, and they were both moving faster than the blond could fathom.

The odd thing was they looked like clones of each other. They both had huge ass eyebrows, black bowl-cut hair, and they were wearing identical green spandex suits for reasons unimaginable. At their sudden entrance though, they both stopped their fighting.

The elder of the two ran straight for Kakashi and stood there smiling with a thumbs-up.

"Ah Kakashi, my eternal rival, finally you've returned! I believe it's my turn to choose the challenge."

Kakashi sighed. "Not now Gai, I'm a little busy at the moment."

He looked past Kakashi to see Naruto and Karen both standing there with equally confused looks.

"Finally found someone worthy of being your student eh? Well it doesn't matter, Lee will always be one step ahead, right Lee!"

The younger of the two clones leaped forward and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes sir, my flames of youth shall never be outshone!"

"That's the spirit!"

Kakashi sighed again. "Look Gai, I really need to get Naruto's training started, so could we just sort of move this to another time and place."

"Of course my worth opponent, I would never impede on a potential agent's education. Train him well Kakashi, Lee needs a good rival."

Lee then rushed to Naruto and stood rigid in front of him.

"What is your name?" he asked enthusiastically.

"…Uh, Naruto."

He nodded. "Very well Naruto, you are now and forever my eternal rival, I shall not be defeated by you!"

Next Gai appeared next to Lee and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Come Lee, if he's to be a worthy opponent, we must not interfere with his training, we'll continue some other time."

Lee nodded again.

"Yes sir," he then turned to Naruto, "Farewell for now Naruto!"

With that, the two were gone; out the door before Naruto could even say goodbye. Naruto looked over his shoulder, then back at Kakashi in confusion.

"What the hell was that!?" he demanded.

"Yeah, I'm sorta wondering the same thing," said Karen.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "Trust me; you're better off not knowing. Anyway, we have training to do, so let's get started. Take off your shirt and shoes."

The blond nodded and removed his shirt and shoes while Kakashi took off his jacket, tie, and shoes, while rolling up the sleeves on his white shirt. Once they were set, he opened up a closet and pulled out two Bokken (training swords). He tossed one to Naruto and held the other in his right had. The blond caught his easily and held it firmly in his hand, analyzing it.

It was a hard rubber foam sort of material and a dark gray, almost black color. It was a little heavy, about fifteen pounds, and looked safe enough to use in a training exercise.

He looked up at Kakashi as he stepped into a sparring mat and followed him. They each stood on opposite ends and Kakashi cleared his throat before beginning.

"Alright Naruto, I'm going to teach you some of your mothers original style of fighting; it's called Oiuchi-Tsukeme (translates roughly into "Final Blow to the Weak Point). It's a difficult style because you must switch between defensive and offensive stances at a moments notice, and you must be able to quickly dodge incoming attacks," he explained.

"It consists of only two stances in the entire style, but they are both extremely different and vital to success. The one you'll be using for most of the duration of your fights is called Gedan-no-kamae (low posture). It's a defensive stance that you will use for almost the entire fight, as it's designed to deflect attacks and open up defenses. Here, let me show you."

Kakashi placed his left foot off to the side, and his right foot a bit farther in front of him, then held his Bokken in front of him at an angle so it was pointing to the ground in a small slope.

"This is Gedan-no-kamae. See, Oiuchi-Tsukeme is designed to be a style of fighting where you bide your time until you can find where your opponent is weakest, then deflect attacks until you can get a shot in on that particular area. Once that happens, you switch quickly to the second stance, Jōdan-no-kamae (high posture)."

Kakashi against shifted position, reversing the roles of his feet, with his left out in front, and his right to the side. His Bokken had also moved from a low position near his waist to a higher position where the hilt was hovering right over his head, raising the sword high into the air.

"This is Joden-no-kamae. While Gedan-no-kamae is for defense and deflection, this posture is for offense and guard-breaks. Once the weakest point of your opponent has been identified and you've created an opening, you will use this stance to relentlessly attack that point until you can either hit it, or your target is disarmed. This stance delivers the strongest and quickest blows, but its defensive capabilities are practically non-existent, so you will need good footwork to dodge any attack that may come your way," he finished.

Naruto had been watching and listening in total infatuation, he couldn't wait to learn this. He gripped his Bokken in anticipation, practically shaking in excitement.

"Now Naruto, do exactly as I do," he instructed calmly.

Kakashi slipped into Gedan-no-kamae again, and Naruto mimicked the motion. Once he was in the stance, Kakashi dropped out of it and approached him. He walked around him in circles, observing his posture.

"Spread your legs out more Naruto, otherwise when you begin deflecting attacks you'll lose balance and fall over."

The blond nodded and did as instructed. The next hour or so consisted of this; Naruto switching between the two stances and Kakashi giving him advice on how to improve on them. After Kakashi was satisfied with his progress, he moved on to having him left weights. He'd need exceptional arm and leg strength to get the fullest out of the Oiuchi-Tsukeme style.

Karen joined in when Naruto began lifting weights. She took to a punching bag nearby the workout equipment, and practiced with the little martial arts she knew. Her mother was amazing fighter and taught her a little of the kitsune hand-to-hand style before she…passed on. Thanks to her natural enhanced strength, she was able to knock the bag every which way with relative ease, but still found it a good release of tension.

Kakashi watched them both with a critical eye, making notes of their strengths and weaknesses. Naruto had a good sense of balance and amazing reflexes, while Karen seemed to have more physical strength. They both had above average endurance, but nothing truly extraordinary in that aspect. Speed seemed average enough, so again, nothing extraordinary.

The silver haired agent thought back two nights previous however, when the phenomenon with the four-tailed kitsune who Karen had designated as Kaito had occurred. Naruto had shown several kitsune traits at that particular instance. Increased strength and speed, some regenerative abilities, enlarged canine teeth and red eyes, but what really worried him was the aura.

To his knowledge, nothing like that had ever happened before. A human inheriting kitsune trait was almost unheard of unless he or she was a hybrid, which wasn't too uncommon in older days, but there were laws now. Of course, it was always possible that Naruto could in fact be a descendant of one of those very hybrids and some recessive kitsune genes laid there by his heritage were awakened by the sudden influx of demonic energy. Of course, this was all merely speculation on his part, he wasn't a scientist.

He did come to the decision though, that it would be a good idea to check it out. A simple blood sample would probably do, and luckily, Kakashi just happened to have a medical syringe on hand. (Don't ask me why, he just does! He's Kakashi, he's prepared for everything! EVERYTHING!)

"Naruto, it's been about four hours, we can quit for now. Before you go though, I'd like to take a quick blood sample."

He tilted his head in confusion while he wiped away the sweat that had accumulated on his body with a nearby towel.

"Why do ya need that?"

"Oh, just for the med-lab. It's standard procedure for new agents to put their blood on record for medical purposes. Incase you need transfusions or something," he said pleasantly.

"Eh, well okay, I guess that makes sense."

"Good."

Kakashi knelt down and stuck the needle in his arms, drawing his blood into the container. Once a good amount was inside, he withdrew it.

"Alright, well I'll take you two to your rooms then I'll get this to the lab; come on."

The two nodded and they exited the gym, Naruto more than a little sore and tired. He was in good shape, but wasn't all that muscular, so those weights really put him through the ringer. His shirt was now matted to his body from all the sweat, and the air conditioned hallways were a sweet relief.

He literally thanked God when he saw that their rooms were on the same floor as the gym. Naruto examined his room as he walked through the threshold. The walls were tan and plain; there was one queen sized bed, a desk with a laptop on it, and a bookcase with some books and…scrolls?

He shrugged and instead of questioning it, he just plopped down on his bed, just wanting to go to sleep for days. He laid there for about five minutes, really not wanting to get up, but knew there was something he really wanted to get to now that he had the time.

He slid off his bed with a groan; his muscles sting him for his sudden movement. He opened his door and shuffled across the hall to the door right across from his, and tapped the door firmly but quickly. Within a few seconds, the red headed kitsune –who had reverted to her more natural form with fox ears and tail-, opened her door, staring back at Naruto.

"What is it Naruto?"

The blond sighed. "I don't know, I guess I was just thinking how you've been on your own since you parents…you know. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that if you need to talk about it, I'll listen," he said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Karen looked downward a bit, seeming slightly more depressed.

"I appreciate the offer Naruto, but I just don't think I can right now."

Naruto nodded and turned to head back to his room, but was stopped when he felt a hand on his wrist and turned back around. As soon as he did, Karen wrapped her arms around his neck and had the side of her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you though," she said softly.

Naruto's face instantly went red and nodded slightly.

"Y-yeah, no problem," he stuttered.

She let go and stepped back across the threshold, looking downward at the floor.

"Maybe tomorrow after training we can talk, but right now I just want to be alone."

"I understand, but I'm right across the hall if you need anything, and the doors always open."

He watched as she gave him a ghost of a smile as she closed the door, leaving him to head back to his room. He plopped back down on his bed with a _thud_ and took a nap.

* * *

Kakashi meanwhile, was a few levels up in the med-lab, awaiting the results of Naruto's blood work. Shizune, while still the Directors assistant, also ran the medical division of the FBPS. When she'd heard Kakashi wanted blood work done for Naruto, she offered to do it personally. He'd been down in the lab for at least forty minutes, so the tests should be done any minute now. The FBPS had access to quite a bit of experimental/classified tech, so things ran much faster than in normal facilities.

Like clockwork, Shizune appeared in the lobby just as Kakashi closed his book and the clock stuck 1:00 PM.

"So, what's the news Shizune?" he asked casually.

She stared down at the paper with a perplexed look. "It's…interesting to say the least. Were you aware that Naruto's DNA has traces of kitsune elements?"

He sat back in his chair and crossed his legs.

"I suspected it, but I couldn't really confirm it. He does carry quite a bit of traits common in kitsune; above average strength and reflexes, good balance, hyperactive and mischievous."

"Well, his family had a demon member somewhere along the way, but that in no way explains this other phenomenon I found. Apparently, Naruto is also radiating low levels of demonic energy, like he's actually a demon himself. It makes no sense."

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Actually, I may have the answer to that little riddle."

Shizune cocked a curious eyebrow.

"You see, when I went out to retrieve him, Naruto was already being tailed by three kitsune assassins. I managed to kill one right off the bat, the other two gave chase. Another kitsune entered the mix though; this one had four tails and went by the name of Kaito. He aided me in fighting until it finally spilled into the streets. Naruto, being the rash soul that he is, rushed in to save Kaito from a beating, only to be impaled by one of the kitsune's fist, effectively killing him. Kaito used some sort of magic I'm not familiar with and resurrected Naruto at the cost of his own life, and along with renewed life, Naruto came back with some frightening abilities, including a red aura in the shape of a kitsune."

Shizune eyes went wide, and Kakashi watched in interest as she rushed back into the lab, only to come back out with a rather thick book. She plopped it down on the floor and sat Indian style, while madly flipping through the pages. She finally stopped with an, "Ah-ha!" Kakashi leaned over and peered at the book.

It read:

_The Kitsune's Gift__._

_Kitsune may, at the cost of his/her own life, transfer their life force and powers to another being, human or otherwise. Depending on the race of being receiving the powers, their bodies will react differently and the powers will manifest themselves in different manners. Humans are the most receptive to this gift as their physiology is identical to kitune's in almost every way, and if given to a human with demon heritage (preferably kitsune) the powers may be amplified in intensity and killing potential. _

_Beings who have received the Kitsune's Gift gain all advantages that kitsune have over most races, which include but are not limited to; increased strength and speed, quicker reflexes, increased balance, increased lifespan, and increased perceptual senses (sight, hearing, ect.)_

_This gift comes at a risk however, as while under the influence of said powers, other beings who have not had their minds trained are subject to mental degradation. In layman's terms, they will have drastically decreased judgmental abilities, often even attacking friends and loved ones in blind rage._

"Well, this could be quite a problem," he said, still sounding casual.

"It's more than 'quite a problem', Naruto is in danger of hurting himself and others if he uses this new power of his! Moreover, does he even know he has it yet!?"

Kakashi scratched his cheek and sighed. "Not quite yet, I didn't think it was this urgent. I think it better if we not tell him though, not unless it becomes a real problem."

"He has a right to know!"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes he does, and we will tell him eventually, but let's wait until he's had more training. Who knows, it could give him enough mental discipline to handle the demonic energy."

Shizune gave him an unconvinced look but gave in.

"Fine, but I want monthly checkups and blood samples. I'm also reporting this to Director Senju, she needs to know about this."

Kakashi nodded calmly. "Fair enough, just don't tell him just yet, and don't even hint at it either. Hopefully when we do tell him he'll have the discipline to control his powers."

Shizune sighed and headed back into the med-lab.

"I hope you're right Kakashi."

* * *

All the way back in Konoha city, a team FBPS agent were sent on city surveillance nearby Naruto's house to see if they could capture any would-be assassins such as rouge demon hunters or kitsune stealth soldiers. One agent in particular was in the driver's seat of a car, watching out for anything suspicious. Well…at least that's what he was supposed to be doing, what he as actually doing was staring out the window looking at clouds. (If you haven't figured out who this is yet, I'm going to have to beat you with a metal bat.)

Shikimaru Nara sighed at his troublesome assignment. Watching over some house in the hopes of capturing criminals wasn't his idea of an important mission. He'd much rather be out in a field somewhere watching the clouds there, or maybe playing chess, there were always worthy opponents down at the parks.

His solitude was interrupted though, as a shrieking cam blaring into his ear through his communications earpiece.

"Shikimaru, pay attention damn it!" came a female voice.

He held his ear in momentary pain, grinding his teeth at the shrill voice.

When he regained his composure, he replied with his lazy voice, "Jeez Ino, I'm paying attention alright. Don't be so troublesome woman."

Ino Yamanaka was one of Shikimaru's partners from this mission; they were both sixteen and had been working for the FBPS for a year now. (Yes, they recruit straight out of high school. More on that next chapter.) Shikimaru had always been bored with school, even after skipping grades and taking the most advanced tests. When he was offered a job at the FBPS, he was sure he'd finally found a job that would challenge him mentally, but so far, it's been one boring steak-out after another, nothing good.

Still, it wasn't a total loss; at least he'd made some friends, something he'd had a hard time doing at his old schools. Speaking of friends, his best friend was his second partner for this mission, and jumped into the conversation.

"Guys, quit fighting or we might get caught by surprise," he said urgently.

Shikimaru sighed. "Hate to break it to ya Choji, but we already have."

"What do you mean?" asked Ino.

He sighed again. "Do you see that black hair man walking down the street on the opposite side?"

"Yeah," replied Ino.

"I see him to," said Choji.

"Well," began Shikimaru, "that guy has walked past this house twice already; he's definitely up to something."

"I don't know," said Ino, "he doesn't look all that suspicious to me, in fact he looks pretty cute."

"Well while you were busy defending him Ino, he just eyed both your positions. He knows we're here, I think he's just walking around the block and analyzing our vantage points and coming up with a plan while trying to look innocent in the process."

"So what do we do?" asked Choji.

Shikimaru thought about it for a minute, then just shrugged.

"Unless he does something, let him be, but keep your weapons out and be ready to move in on him if he makes even the slightest provocative motion. Got it?"

"Got it," said Choji.

"Rodger that," agreed Ino.

With that settled, Shikimaru eyed the mysterious man. He looked about their age with black hair and eyes. The pineapple haired agent remembered him from the newly updated Bingo Book. Sasuke Uchiha, wanted in over twenty-three countries for illegal supernatural assassinations and manslaughter. Shikimaru didn't want to engage him unless absolutely necessary, it was dangerous to attack someone like him, plus it would be way too troublesome.

Still, Shikimaru couldn't help but want to figure out his plan, it was a new puzzle that he intended to solve.

"Sasuke Uchiha…what are you up to?" he whispered to himself.

* * *

**Bum! bum! bum! Shikimaru, Ino, and Choji against Sasuke, here comes the boom! We'll get to see some of Sasuke's abilities and not just his fancy-shmancy guns, though who doesn't like guns right? Anywho, plenty of action to go around next chapter, and I hope to get it out sooner than I did this one, but I can't make any promises.**

**Review ladies and gentlemen, review.  
**


	7. Chapter 7: I'll Cry With You

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 7

**I'll Cry With You**

**Disclaimer: **nope, still don't own Naruto, but I'm working on it.

I'm really sorry for the week (well, over a week) wait for this chapter, but I was busy okay! Now, I have to warn you guys right now, we have a big fluff scene in this chapter (So says the chapter title), so prepare yourselves for a sob fest.

Oh yeah, and Sasuke is here to, but I don't care, I hate that ass-muncher.

Anyway, read on.

* * *

That was the fifth time now, the fifth time the Uchiha had circled the block. Whatever he was going to do, he was going to do it soon, Shikimaru could tell. As he thought that, Sasuke suddenly changed his direction, and instead of going straight, he turned to his left, heading for the front door of a house; Naruto Uzumaki's house to be exact.

Shikimaru immediately got on his ear-piece radio.

"He's making a move! Choji, get down here with me, we'll get closer and see what he's up to, Ino, do you have him in your sights?"

"_Sure do, if he tries anything I'll blast his head off."_

"Right, let's move people."

Choji was down in a second, casually standing next to Shikimaru's car. He carried a brown duffel bag with him and nodded to the Nara. The team was ready for any contingency, they had Ino who was not only their interrogation expert thanks to that Body Snatcher spell, but she was also a specialized marksman, hefting a customized M-21 atop a house across the street.

Choji was a close combat specialist, choosing to wield a SPAS-12 shotgun which was safely tucked away in said duffel bag. He also had a cool body augmentation spell that allowed him to enlarge his limbs to increase damage to melee attacks.

Lastly, Shikimaru was their tactician as well as an expert in ambush and stealth. This was only complimented by his signature spell, the Shadow Manipulation technique. He could, as the name suggested, manipulate shadows and paralyze his opponents.

The two boys walked across the street under Ino's watchful eye. They came up behind Sasuke and stood there, knowing he was fully aware of their presence.

"So, are you gonna fight, or can we just skip all the troublesome stuff and just get outta here?" Shikimaru asked Sasuke directly.

He merely smirked. "There's a certain person here I have a previous engagement with, it'd be rude to skip out on it."

Shikimaru sighed. "If you're talking about Uzumaki and the kitsune girl, then you're out of luck. Agent Hatake came by a few days ago and picked them up; they're with the FBPS now."

"Hm…then I suppose I'll just have to pay them a visit. After all, I've gotten into the FBPS headquarters before," he mocked.

Both Shikimaru and Choji were taken aback by his comment.

"You've been inside the FBPS before? How is that possible?"

"I'm not telling. In fact, this whole conversation is for you to take to the grave."

At that, Sasuke whirled around, his right hand to his mouth. The two FBPS agents dove to the side as a jet of flames erupted from the demon hunter's mouth, scorching the concrete pathway up to the front door of the house. Choji rolled onto his feet, knelt down, and whipped out his shotgun. He fired off one of the shells just as the raven haired criminal leaped into the air, blasting away a piece of the wooden door.

As Sasuke –who jumped completely over Shikimaru and Choji- ran down the street, Shikimaru fired a few shots from his P-99, only to miss. He was never much of a marksman.

Speaking of marksmanship though, Ino witnessed the whole commotion from her vantage point and had the rouge demon hunter in her sights. He had just turned the corner and was heading in a straight path forward. The blond smirked as her reticule was trained in on his head, and she pulled the trigger.

In the short second before that however, Sasuke sensed what she was doing, and activated his Sharingan nanite system. He whirled around quickly, fired a bullet from his Glock 18c –set to single round firing mode- and then continued moving. The Glock's round and the M-21's slug collided in the air thanks to the Sharingan's targeting capabilities, and set the larger bullet veering off course, striking the concrete of the street.

Sasuke smirked and rounded another corner, heading for a small walled-in complex with a few old, unused wooden warehouses. He leaped over the fence, somersaulted back into his feet, and rushed into the nearest building. Shikamaru and Choji were in hot pursuit, and arrived a minute later.

They walked into the warehouse, their weapons raised. They had to be careful, they were in a confined space, and had no sniper support. They were expecting some sort of ambush, but it didn't come; in fact, they were in the center of the warehouse and still nothing happened at all.

"Boy," commented Choji, "this place must be old; it's got a lot of cobwebs on the walls."

Shikimaru looked at the walls, and indeed did see quite a bit of material adorning the walls, but they weren't cobwebs. They were too bright, too spread out to be cobwebs. It took a moment for Shikimaru to realize that they were trapped the minute they stepped in the building, but that didn't stop him for shouting out a warning.

"Choji, we've got to get out of here!"

"Huh?"

As he was about to explain, the "cobwebs" suddenly blazed with a blindingly fast flash of flame, which set the wooden walls suddenly erupting into flames, cutting off the only entrance and exit to the building.

'_Damn; thermite wires, how did I not see that coming!? He must have lined the walls with them and ignited them to trap us inside.' _He thought angrily.

"It's been a time in a half," said a voice from above.

The two looked up to see the demon hunter himself standing on the roof, looking down from a broken sun window.

"Unfortunately, I'm a bit busy, but I'll leave you something to play with."

With that, he dropped what looked like a bunch of papers into the building. He jumped away, and the dozens of papers lightly floated down through the air. They didn't need any time at all to figure out what _those_ were.

"PAPER-BOMBS!" Shikimaru shouted.

* * *

Sasuke retreated to a safe distance a few buildings away, which only took a few seconds for his speed, then, looked on at the burning building. He smirked and focused some of his magic into his right hand, then snapped his fingers.

In an instant, the already burning building was blown to pieces by the combined force of the paper-bombs and the excess thermite from his incendiary wires.

The stuff didn't burn for long, but it was sure hot enough to set those wooden walls on fire. He'd much rather have thermate; it burned longer and was easier to ignite because of the sulfur and barium nitrate, but that was military grade stuff, and he didn't need that kind of suspicion. Plain old thermite and paper-bombs did the job just fine for now.

He seriously doubted they survived that blast, and if they did, they would most likely die from their injuries. He wanted to take out that damn sniper as well, but he didn't have time, he had to get back to Orochimaru and update him on the kitsune girl's status.

He took one last look at his handiwork, then jumped down to the ground and walked down the street, whistling a tune to himself.

* * *

"Ow, damn it."

Naruto had just fallen on his ass…again. It was the next days training session, and after Naruto's sword lessons, Kakashi attempted to teach him some hand-to-hand. Sure, he could hold himself in a schoolyard brawl or even against someone like a mugger or a common thief, but Kakashi was a martial arts master, and the blond wasn't doing so hot.

It was the same apparel as the previous day, Naruto had taken off his shirt and shoes, and Kakashi had taken off his suit and tie, and had his white shirt's sleeves rolled up.

"Don't be so upset," said Kakashi, "You're improving. Keep this up and you'll be up to standards soon enough. In the meantime, don't get so worked up."

Naruto still growled; he was catching onto the swordsmanship thing quickly enough, but he seemed to be having trouble with martial arts. Karen had been, again, sitting off against the wall, watching Naruto get his butt kicked.

"Yeah Naruto, it's not your fault you suck," she teased.

He gave her an annoyed scowl. "_You_ shut up! I don't see you busting your ass over here, I'm the one working so hard to protect you, so how about some gratitude!"

"Naruto, calm down," sighed Kakashi.

The boy stayed silent, but stuck his tongue out at Karen in quiet defiance. She stuck her own tongue out in response, and the two glared at each other like children. Kakashi sighed again and hung his head.

'_Will those two ever get along?'_ he thought to himself.

"Well anyway Naruto, it's about six o'clock, and you've been training since noon, so you're free to go. I'll take you both back to your rooms."

The blond had a look of relief on his face.

"Oh thank you God!"

He hopped up and threw on his shirt and shoes, more than ready to get going. The two followed Kakashi out of the gym and once again, through the mess of people and hallways until they reached their rooms. Naruto once again found himself on the verge of kneeling down and thanking whoever built this place that his room was on the same floor as the gym.

"You two can rest or whatever, I've got to go meet with the director in a few minutes. I'll see ya around."

With that, the masked agent walked back down the hallway and turned a corner, disappearing from their sight. Naruto opened the door to his room and was about to walk in when he felt a hand grip his own. He looked over and saw Karen, wearing an unusually shy expression.

"What is it Karen?" he asked.

She lowered her head a bit. "I...I was thinking...if you don't mind, I could...maybe talk to you about my...my parents."

Naruto's expression changed to a sad one like hers, and reversed the grip she had on his hand so he held hers, and gripped it tightly.

"Sure, whatever you want."

She smiled a bit, but tears were still on the threshold of her eyes, so Naruto gently pulled her into his room. She took a seat on his bed, and Naruto sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her. She sat in silence for a bit, Naruto patiently waiting for her to say something...anything. He decided that she probably just needed a little nudge, so he started off the conversation.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about specifically?"

She gripped her pant legs tightly and sighed as a few teardrops fell onto her lap. She shook her head.

"I don't even know, I can't think of a thing. God I feel so stupid!"

"Why is that?"

"It's just...this whole thing! I should be focusing on staying alive, but instead I just feel like crying all the time! I'm so pathetic!"

Naruto really felt sorry for her, this was too much for her, too much for anyone. he stood up and took a seat next to her on his bed.

"Karen...," he said softly as he place a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up slightly, "You shouldn't feel stupid or pathetic. I can't think of any sane person on this earth who could have their parents killed and stay strong all the time. Everyone, no matter how strong, has to cry sometime."

"The fact that you were able to remain confident and practical even after something as traumatizing as that, is amazing in itself," he continued, "and add on top of that the fact that everyone in the world seems to be out to get you...Karen, to be honest, I don't know how you do it."

She sniffled before asking, "Do what?"

"How you bury it so well, how you're able to keep that strong front up even against all that's happened. You're not pathetic, and you're not stupid, you're could very well be the strongest person I've ever met. It's okay to cry Karen, and if you need someone to be there while you do it, then I'll be that person."

She gave an audible gasp as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'll be the person...to cry with you."

After he said that, she completely broke down, and buried her face in his shoulder. She gripped his shirt so tight he thought she might rip and and she was on the verge of complete wailing. Still, he didn't mind, it was better if she got it out now. She'd held this all in for too long, she needed to release some of the pent up emotions she had swirling around.

He repeated the actions he used when she broke apart like this in his room after the first kitsune assassin went after her. He lightly rocked her back and forth and stroked her hair; she needed someone to comfort her, and he couldn't help but feel like it was his obligation to do so. If he was going to be her body guard he was going to protect her, not just from demon hunters or assassins, but from this anguish she was feeling as well. It was just as damaging as a poison, but unlike a poison, this sort of harm couldn't just be removed with an antidote. It would take time and patience, and Naruto planned on being with her every step of the way.

He was lost in his thoughts though, and when he finally came back to reality, he realized that well over fifteen minutes had passed, and the crying had finally stopped. He looked down at Karen, only to see she was asleep, she'd actually cried herself to sleep. He layed her down on his bed, and yawned; he was pretty tired himself. He layed down next to her, just planning on laying there for a while to rest his limbs, which were burning with soreness by now.

Fate, it seemed, had a different idea however, as the blond felt his eyelids grow extremely heavy, and he to drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Kakashi meanwhile, was in the infirmary, where the director had called him. He stood there with Tsunade, Shizune, and agent Ino Yamanaka. She was the only member of the pursuit and capture team that the FBPS sent out to catch any more stray demon hunters or such that had returned from the mission unharmed.

Her two partners; Shikimaru Nara and Choji Akamichi were both in the ICU. Shikimaru was conscious but in a lot of pain, and Choji was still unconscious. Apparently they had walked right into an ambush by Sasuke Uchiha, and both of them were nearly killed. Choji however, had thought fast and used his Body Expansion spell to help shield both himself and Shikimaru from the blasts of well over thirty paper bombs. It was a miracle there was anything left of them, let along that they were alive.

Kakashi and Tsunade now stood apart from Shizune and Ino and talked in private.

"They're our best pursuit and capture team, and Uchiha outwitted them like a bunch of recruits. I'm officially moving his wanted status up from A-class criminal to S-class."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, what would you expect from someone with his blood. Not only does he have the Sharingan nanite system, but he's also an Uchiha, it's literally in his blood.

She nodded. "We need to capture him and find out who he's working for. He wouldn't be this persistent if he wasn't getting orders from someone, I want to know who."

"Right, I can lead a team to find him if you like. I didn't fight him with any of my flashy stuff last time for fear of too much collateral damage, but I think I'll be able to lure him somewhere secluded where I can take him down."

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I need you here. You have to keep training Naruto, he needs you more. I'll find someone else."

He nodded. "Understood, is that all?"

"Yes, you're dismissed."

With that, Kakashi turned and left the infirmary. He thought Naruto should know about this; if he wanted to be a good FBPS agent, he needed to stay in the loop. Besides, Sasuke seemed to be targeting Karen specifically, and Naruto was bonded to her, so this was something he definitely needed to be aware of.

It took him about ten minutes to get from the infirmary to Naruto's room. He knocked on the door with a few light taps...and got no answer. He knocked again...still no answer. After a few minutes, he got impatient, and just barged in. His reaction to the sight before him was one of the few moments where he showed his romantic fan-boy side.

In front of him were Naruto and Karen, both asleep on his bed. Naruto was laying on his back, with Karen's head laying comfortably on his chest and her left arm draped over stomach. Meanwhile Naruto's left arm was loosely wrapped around her waist.

He chuckled to himself and pulled out his book. He looked down at it, then back and Naruto and Karen's sleeping forms, then chuckled again.

_'__Those two would make a great story.'_

* * *

Two hours later, Karen awoke in a slight daze. As her vision returned to her, she looked around and found herself still in Naruto's room. That's when she found herself wondering why her face was so warm. She looked upward, and saw Naruto's face not too far away from hers; she was laying on his chest.

Her first impulse was to freak out and jump out of the room before anything could be said, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. His chest was so warm and she was too comfortable to move. She moved onto her second impulse, which was to adjust her position slightly, lay back down onto him, and go back to sleep.

Whether it was now or later, it was still going to be awkward, so she decided that she'd deal with this when _he_ woke up. Until then, she was going to enjoy herself and keep resting. After all, she _did_ have the worlds greatest pillow.

* * *

**Okay, now that that's done, I'm going to go rest my hands, they hurt a little. Once again, sorry for the long wait. I'm a popular guy, what can I say?**

**I'll keep trying to get the next chapter out ASAP, but I can't promise anything definite. I'll just keep doing my best!**

**Reviews are always appreciated. If you don't leave one, I'll be pissed and might do something rash and unexpected like kill off Sasuke! (believe me, the thought has crossed my mind. I HATE HIM SO MUCH! FUCKER!)**


	8. Chapter 8: Strike Three

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 8

** Strike Three  
**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto and all that junk

Okay, before this chapter gets started, I have something I'd like to address. I've gotten a number of reviews concerning the use of weapons in this story so far, namely the firearms. Now, I'd like to start of by saying I appreciate the fact that you guys like this story enough to point this stuff out, but seriously, it's not that big a deal. I'm not a gun expert and I never claimed to be!

Instead of focusing on the weapons and the guns, how about commenting on the actual story. It's a little more important than the gun a character is using for whatever scene they're in. I try to make the armaments fit the situation, but I'm not perfect okay, I've got enough going on as it is, I can't spend an entire day getting every minute detail of firearm application correct.

So from now on, unless I really truly fuck up, quit pointing out which gun I should have should have used, or which rifle would have been better. Just enjoy the story; the review button isn't there so you can teach me "Guns 101", it's there so you can tell me what you think of the _story_.

Now that that's out of the way, go on and read.

* * *

The light was right in his eyes; right after he woke up, the first thing he saw was the light on his ceiling shining in his eyes. He groaned at the discomfort, all he honestly wanted to do was go back to sleep, but he couldn't thanks to that damn light. He turned his head at looked over at the clock on the wall; it was about eight o'clock in the morning. He sighed; he really didn't want to get up.

He tried to push himself off his bed, but found that he couldn't, like there was some weight on top of him. He relaxed his body and looked down, and instantly wished he hadn't.

Karen had her head lying peacefully on his chest, her left hand extremely close to his neck, and her right arm was wrapped around his left arm, immobilizing it. She had a small smile on her face, her tail was swishing from side to side like it usually did when she slept, signaling she was probably dreaming, and her kitsune ears gave the occasional fluttering twitch.

He smiled to; he had to admit, when she slept like this, she was really cute. She almost seemed like a little kid cuddled up under a warm blanket. His grin grew; he took a few stray strands of hair hanging in her face and tucked them behind her ear, then moved his hand up a little further to one of her fox ears.

He almost laughed as he saw her reaction to him softly scratching it. Her smile grew, she blushed a little, and her tail began swishing with a bit more vigor than before.

"That tickles a little you know," she mumbled, startling the blond to such an extent that he nearly rolled off the bed. As Karen sat up and scratched her head, Naruto rolled completely off the bed and started stuttering an apology.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking!" he shouted.

She simply yawned and stretched before replying.

"Don't worry about it, I was too lazy to get up, and to be honest, that felt good."

"…You're a bit of a pervert aren't ya," he said blandly.

She smiled playfully. "Just a little."

He sighed and stood up -brushing off his clothes- then looked seriously at Karen.

"So…" he started, "do you feel any better today?"

Her smile faded, but she did give a faint nod. She stood up and walked up to him, her head slightly lowered. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug, something Naruto had seen coming, but did nothing to stop. They stood there like that for a minute or two.

"Naruto?" asked Karen suddenly.

"Hm."

"I just wanted to tell you that…getting stuck to you has been the best thing to happen to me in a long time. I'm glad I met you."

Naruto was speechless; he hadn't known Karen too long in the scheme of things, but he'd spent almost every hour of every day with her since they'd been bonded, and in that time, this had to be the nicest thing that she'd ever said to him.

"Tha…thank you, I'm really glad I met you to."

With that, they parted from each other, both of them more than a little red in the face. Karen turned around and headed to Naruto's door. As she closed it behind her though, she looked back, and Naruto saw a much larger smile on her face than the day before.

He smiled to himself after she left; it looks like he had made a difference after all.

* * *

Way too easy, that was what Sasuke was thinking right now. The hub of the American military command, the Pentagon, had just been infiltrated by a sixteen year old. It was simple; he just assassinated one of the officers on their way to the building, used a basic transformation spell and copied his appearance. With the officer's face and the proper ID badge, it was child's play getting inside.

He was now out of said transformation and in the very basement of the Pentagon. He was using his magic to help him stick to the ceiling, and was easily slipping past all the security measures. They obviously wouldn't have any arcane defenses set up until he made it to the actual entrance to the FBPS. He'd broken in before, so he was sure he could do it again.

Speaking of which, he just hit the jackpot. There it was; the twin titanium, blast absorbing gel reinforced doors that revealed the elevator that would lead him downward into the underbelly of the nation's supernatural law enforcement network. Just his luck to, they were in the middle of guard rotations, which meant he had a three minute window to disarm all the seals and alarms.

'_Heh, two more minutes than I need,' _he thought to himself.

He took one last look down the hall; no one was coming. With that he dropped down and activated his Sharingan system. Another nifty ability these nanite implants had was the ability to see hidden seals, hexed doorways, and all other magical defense systems. He looked up to see the titanium door covered in black painted on seals that would act as alarms to all the magically adept personnel in the base, and of course there was also a pass-code you needed for the computer alarms.

He started with the seals first. Orochimaru was good with seals, and had taught Sasuke a good deal about them. Compared to the ones he usually made him disarm or arm, these ones were like childs play to overload and deactivate.

He filled his index and middle fingers on each hand with charge, and went to work by trusting his extended fingers into the center of each of the seals one by one. As he did, he overloaded them and they faded from existence. This probably wouldn't be noticed by anyone except for the most magically in-synched of agents.

With them gone, he moved over to the keyboard with the numerical code input on it. He took out a Numerical-Synchronizer from one of his side packs. He plugged it into one of the USB ports and uploaded the program, overriding the pass-code in seconds. With that, the silver doors slid open, revealing a second room with a small elevator on the other end.

He walked up to the elevator and overloaded a few secondary alarm seals on the door before entering. He pressed the lowest button on dash board; if Uzumaki and the kitsune girl really were here, then he highly doubted the director would keep such honored guests anywhere but on the lower, more secure levels.

Sasuke knew from experience that even the weakest agent could tell if someone were under a transformation spell to disguise themselves, so to counter this, he would be doing this the old fashioned way. He would be using a physical disguise. The elevator ride was a good two and a half minutes, plenty of time to change.

He pulled out a scroll from behind his back and unsealed it, spitting out a white shirt, suit and tie, dress pants, a bandanna to cover his uniquely styled hair, and sunglasses to hide his Sharingan. It was well known that agents of the FBPS were allowed to customize their uniforms in ways such as head-wear or glasses, so it wouldn't look the least bit suspicious. Again, only the strongest agents in the base would be able to sense anything unusual from him.

He finished just in time, as the door opened just as he slipped on his sunglasses. He whistled a tune as he walked into the base, passing two ANBU Black Ops. soldiers standing guard; his disguise would easily fool them. He learned a while ago that the ANBU weren't all they were cracked up to be.

He walked down the hallway, looking for any trace of the blond boy or the red headed kitsune. He went through hallway after hallway but still nothing. He did notice one thing though; he was being followed. He wasn't sure how, but it seemed someone had become suspicious of him and decided to tail him.

To test this theory out, he entered an empty supply closet with nothing of particular interest in it. Not a moment later did he feel someone's presence in the room with him; they were getting closer and closer and closer, like they were sneaking up on him. He let them get to the point where they probably thought they were going to get him, then out of nowhere he slipped a knife out from his sleeve and whirled around, slicing through his pursuers throat.

The body of an ANBU soldier toppled over and hit the floor with a thud. He put on a victorious smirk as she leaned over the body. He was about to go on his way when suddenly the body popped and became nothing but smoke, and in its place was a crate of old bread.

'_Substitution spell; but that means the real…oh shit.'_

* * *

"Focus Naruto, you're muscles have nothing to do with this exercise, this has more to do with the mind," instructed Kakashi.

Karen watched with endless amusement as Kakashi attempted to teach the blond the art of magic. It was hilarious to watch him try in vain to perform a simple doppelganger spell. She had to hand it to him, he did pull it off on his first try, but it came out a bit sickly and pathetic. She laughed so hard when she saw it that she fell out of her seat.

"Aww, come on Kakashi, can't we just spar or something, I'm better at the physical stuff anyway."

He shook his head. "No Naruto, you need to know how to do this. Every FBPS agent must have a basic understanding of simple stealth and offensive spells. Martial arts and swordsmanship won't get you everywhere."

He groaned, but his whining was interrupted as an alarm suddenly came blaring into the room. Karen covered her more sensitive fox ears as she recoiled in pain, and Naruto just scowled as he did the same to his ears.

"_Attention, attention, there is an intruder in the facility, repeat, there is an intruder in the facility!"_

"Naruto!" shouted Kakashi over the alarms, "I'm going to see what's going on, don't leave this gym for any reason, got it?"

"Sure, sure, go do your government agent thing!"

He eyed the younger boy suspiciously for a second before he ran off out of the room and down the hallway. Naruto lay on his back and sighed, all this excitement and there was still nothing to do. Thought he did wonder; who was it that had gotten into the FBPS base, and more importantly, how and why?

* * *

Sasuke whirled around another corner as the bullets from three P22's collided with the wall behind him. He ran down the hallway full speed and gripped his signature Glock 18c tightly. He rounded yet another corner and was met with another agent, which he quickly shot with a quick burst from his handgun, dropping him before he could even raise his firearm.

With him out of the way, he kept on running and running until he reached the middle of the hallway. At this point the three agents he'd been pursued by had caught up with him and four more came around on the opposite end; he was boxed in. He thought he was screwed until he noticed a set of double doors just a little further down the hall. He made a mad dash for the door, diving and rolling to avoid the hail of bullets being propelled at him.

With one slick movement, he rolled back onto his feet, pulled on the handle, rolled inside, and kicked the door closed. He grabbed a nearby object –it looked like a rubber polymer training sword- and used it to jam the door. They agents on the other side tried to open the doors, but they were strong and the training sword was sturdy and able to hold back their combined force.

He sighed in relief as he ripped off the annoying disguise, revealing his more casual looking demon hunter clothing beneath, which as of the moment consisted of a black T-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a brown leather gun-belt with his Glock in its holster and the rest of it filled with spare clips of ammunition and assorted grenades.

He was thankful to have some time to think and plan a new strategy, at least until he felt someone tap his shoulder. He was so lost in his thoughts and so surprised that there was someone in the room with him that he didn't even stop to think they were a threat. That turned out to be a mistake, as he saw a blur of blond hair before he felt a fist slam into his cheek.

He backed up a bit and shook off the blow, then looked up at his attacker. He was shocked to find that it was exactly who he was looking for. The blond haired Naruto Uzumaki and the kitsune girl which he was assigned to kill stood right in front of him. Naruto had an angry but surprised face when they locked eyes.

"Hey, you're that Sasuke guy!" he shouted.

Sasuke spit out the little blood that had dripped into his mouth after that punch, then replied, "Naruto Uzumaki, I'm flattered that you remember me."

"Ah, shut up!"

With that, Naruto came at him with his fist raised again, throwing a punch at his face again. This time Sasuke saw it coming a mile away and easily caught the fist. He then raised his right leg, impacting Naruto's stomach with his foot, propelling him halfway across the room.

He shifted a little to his left as he heard someone else coming at him. He ducked under a roundhouse kick from Karen, and backed away as she came at him again. She had a much more defined form and was much faster than Naruto, but still nothing he couldn't handle.

She sent extremely fast punches his way, which he was able to deflect away without much trouble. He didn't want to just block them; the blunt impact would put way too much strain on his limbs. She might not be as skilled as he was, but that kitsune was definitely strong.

This was just proven as Sasuke ducked and rolled out of the way of a right hook, which impacted the wall and shattered away a thin layer of the concrete. As she turned to attack him, Sasuke gave her a left hook to the face, then slammed his right fist into her stomach. He finished the combo by grabbing her face and slamming the back of her head in the wall, chipping away even more of the concrete.

She slumped over against the wall, either dazed or unconscious he wasn't sure, nor did he care. He pulled out his Glock, sliding in a new clip to replace the near depleted old one. As he lowered the handgun to Karen's head, he heard Naruto roar as he charged him from behind.

"Touch her and you die!" he shouted.

Sasuke whirled around, gun in hand, and prepared to shoot him, when he felt something impact the back of his leg, just below the knee joints.

He grunted as his leg buckled under him. As he fell his finger slip and a burst of three bullets flew out into the air. Naruto's head just happened to be in the path of one of those bullets, and the round pierced through part of his forehead. The blond stumbled over and fell onto his stomach with a thud.

Sasuke was back on his feet in seconds and didn't even spare Naruto a second glace, that was a killing shot no matter how you put it. He turned his attention back to Karen, who was still on the ground, but was glaring up at him furiously. He smirked as he pressed the gun to her head, but became confused when she suddenly started smirking back.

Then he felt a familiar tap on his shoulder.

He turned around quickly, only to have a repeat of before as Naruto's fist slammed into his cheek. This time was different though, the punch blew him straight through the concrete wall and into the opposite wall in the hallway. The FBPS agents who were trying to break into the gym stared at him in shock.

Sasuke was on the ground in a fit of coughs, trying to figure out how Naruto had survived a bullet to the head and on top of that, how he had just punched him through a wall.

'_He was dead! There was no way could he have survived that but he did; how did he do it!?'_

He looked up at the gaping hole in the wall, and saw the blond hop out. The first thing he noticed was the fact that he looked like he was on fire with a reddish-orange glow. He also noticed that his hair was wilder, his eyes had changed from blue to a dark blood red, and his canines had enlarged.

He stopped in front of the raven haired demon hunter. Sasuke watched as Naruto held something out in his hand and looked closer; it was a scrunched up bullet. He then watched as Naruto balled his fist and crushed the metal round into dust.

Without moments more hesitation, Naruto picked up Sasuke by his shirt with both hands, and with all his might, threw him down the hallway. He skidded and bounced down the hall like a pinball, ricocheting against the walls, ceiling, and floor as if he was a rubber ball. He stopped at the other end of the hallway by slamming into the wall parting into two other hallways.

As Sasuke attempted to regain his balance, Naruto caught up to him in an instant and punched his chin in an uppercut, slamming his head into the ceiling. The next thing he knew, there was a hand around his face that burned like fresh embers on his skin, and it whipped him around and slammed him against the wall opposite the one he crashed into.

He landed on his stomach as he hit the floor. He quickly rolled to the side, dodging a punch that would have easily crushed his skull as easily as it had crushed the concrete it impacted. The raven haired demon hunter stumbled up and activated his Sharingan; he'd need the reaction time and strength boost that it have him. Whatever this new power of Naruto's was, it was not something to screw around with.

As the feral and "flaming" blond came at him again, Sasuke found it much easier to follow his movements. Unlike just a few minutes ago, Naruto was now an actual challenge; his movements were faster and his attacks were leagues stronger. Even with his Sharingan he was straining himself to block or dodge all of his unpredictable attacks.

They traveled down the hallway, Naruto attacking Sasuke madly as the other moved backward as he flipped and stretched to dodge and deflect his rapid attacks. They came up on a dead end hallway, and Sasuke thought up a plan. He lead Naruto deeper and deeper inward, and about halway down he threw a smoke grenade to the end, and rushed into the growing plume of smoke. Naruto followed with blind rage, jumping into the smoke with one goal, and that was to kill Sasuke.

He used his enhanced sight and hearing to track him, and stalked him with predatorial determination. He focused on the sound of footsteps and ragged breaths, and soon saw the pale outline of his target. He leaped forward and thrust his hands forward, making contact and pinning him to a wall. He became confused however, when Sasuke suddenly grasped onto his arms as well, and not in an attempt for freedom, it was as if he was trying to got him to stay in one spot.

Suddenly, Sasuke exploded and dozens of tiny metal shrapnel shards sliced into his body, knocking him on his back as his body fought to evict the metallic invaders.

"Like it?" came Sasuke's voice, "I transformed a fragmentation grenade to look like me after I pulled the pin. It was literally a walking time-bomb. Pretty clever eh?"

The blond snarled. He couldn't wait to rip that smug bastard limb from limb. He got up onto his feet as most of the metal fragments were out of his body and the wounds closed.

"Well, I've got to go finish off your demon friend, so I'll be seeing you later...maybe."

Naruto jumped out of the smoke -now with a fully formed demonic cloak and a single tail- with both his claws extended as he saw Sasuke running down the hallway. He extended his demonic cloak, reaching out his claws, which were now the length of half the hallway, and wrapped his "fingers" around Sasuke's body. He pulled him in at high speeds with his left claw, ready to nail him in the face with his now free right one.

Sasuke only smirked as he was dragged in closer.

"Heh, strike two."

With Naruto's enhanced hearing, he was able to hear the comment and by the time he knew what he'd meant, it was too late. Another transformed frag grenade exploded, Naruto taking another explosion and rain of shrapnel full force. He was blown onto his back but the more dense demonic cloak absorbed most of the damage, leaving him unharmed.

He hopped back up onto his feet and growled, letting his aura flair in intensity. He dropped down on all fours and dashed down the hallway back to the gym, determined to finally kill that damn Uchiha.

* * *

Karen meanwhile, was rushing down the hallway for two reasons. One would be that she was obviously worried and curious about the battle, and two was because she and Naruto were still bonded and she coudln't be very far from him without inflicting great pain on the both of them. The side affects could even be deadly if they strayed too far, but the pain in her head was fading, letting her know that she was getting closer.

She heard footsteps around the corner and thought she had finally caught up to Naruto, but her hopes were dashed when the raven haired nightmare rounded the corner. Before she could react, he was already coming at her and landed a punch on her cheek. She slid back but remained standing; she charged him back, throwing a punch, only to have it deflected and felt a strong punch to her gut.

This time she fell on her back. Sasuke pulled out a combat knife, (he lost his Glock while fighting Naruto), and pounced at Karen. At the last moment, she shot her right foot up and slammed it into his face, knocking him to the side as he landed on his back.

The kitsune scrambled up to run after Naruto; the closer they were the easier this would be. Her progress was impeeded though, as Sasuke came from behind and tackled her to the floor. She struggled and crawled but he wouldn't budge, and the worst part was he had recovered his knife.

He raised it up and prepared to stab downward when he saw an orange and red blur out of the corner of his vision. Then suddenly he was the one on his back with four deep slashes on his left cheek, resembling an attack from an animals claw.

Standing over him in a feral stance was a very _very_ pissed off Naruto. Sasuke rolled backwards, then pushed off with his feet and lunged at the blond with his knife. Naruto caught the blade bare handed and squeezed down, shattering the knife into tiny fragments. He then brought his right hand back and punched Sasuke square in the jaw, sending him ricocheting down the hallway again.

Naruto charged him again on all fours as the raven slowly stumbled upward again. He saw him forming the same hand-signs that Karen used when she used magic. He made six in rapid succession, then brought his right hand to his mouth.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The hallway was engulfed in a raging torrent of flames in an instant; there was no space left un-ignited by the flames. Naruto didn't care though, he charged right into the flames with complete abandon. His demonic cloak protected him from the actual flames, but it could do nothing about the heat, and Naruto felt like he was being cooked in an oven. Still he rushed onward, it was only a matter of time before he reached the other side.

When he finally did reach the other side and leap out of the raging flames, he would never forget Sasuke Uchiha's face...priceless. It had an expression that just told him what he was thinking at that moment.

_'How did you survive, why won't you die?'_

It was an even greater feeling when his leg slammed into the side of Sasuke's head, smacking the other side of his head into the concrete wall. Then on the return trip down, Naruto was able to land a punch on the front of his face, hearing a pleasant crack as he broke the Uchiha's nose. The back of his head hit the floor hard, and after he landed, he remained still.

Naruto could feel his power fading away as his aggression and anger did, and soon he was back to his normal self. He immediately fell to his knees and was gasping for breath, being in that form took its toll on him physically. Sweat glazed his forehead and dripped down his face, and his body ached from having two grenades go off right in front of him, but he could have been worse.

He sighed in relief. That was, until he heard some jolly laughter coming from the downed demon hunter in front of him. He watched in frustration and fear as the raven haired warrior rose, albeit a bit clumsily, and had a smile on his face.

"That was impressive Naruto Uzumaki, I've never had an opponent like you before..."

He gripped his shirt collar and yanked it to the side, revealing a black, three pronged seal on his neck.

"...That's why I won't be holding back anything at all. What do you say Naruto, my curse seal against that strange power of yours. I want to see just how powerful you are."

"I don't think so Sasuke," said a new and calmer voice.

They both looked up (or in Sasuke's case, back and up), to see Kakashi holding his gun to Sasuke's head. He was accompanied by five ANBU soldiers, and at the same time, Tsunade rounded the other corner with another ten.

"You did a good job keeping him in one place Naruto, but this fight is over," said Kakashi, "As for you Sasuke Uchiha, you'll be spending some quality time with our Interrogation Unit."

At that, two of the ANBU took him by the arms and dragged him down the hallway. As they did this, Sasuke only smirked and chuckled a little. Naruto saw the gleam in his eyes and just somehow knew right away what was going to happen next.

"Hey Naruto..." said Sasuke, "...strike three"

Immediately after those words were uttered, "Sasuke" exploded in a bright fireball, incinerating the two ANBU who were escorting him. Everyone looked in shock as the two men and the clone who had been standing there one moment were now gone. Kakashi walked over to the scorched crater and examined the explosion sight.

"Looks like he used several paper bombs for this one. He used an exploding clone to confuse as and he made his escape; he's probably already long gone," he looked back over at Tsunade, "You were right to promote him to S Class ma'am, he's much more clever than I thought."

Meanwhile, Naruto had staggered his way to Karen and knelt down again, trying not to expend too much more energy.

"You okay?" he groaned.

She nodded slightly. "You look exhausted, will you be alright?"

He nodded as well. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired, all I need is some sle..."

He never finished the sentence, as he fell asleep mid-word, slumping over onto the floor and snoring loudly. Karen smiled and gently lifted him up, standing the both of them up and throwing his arm over her shoulder so she could drag him along more easily.

"Directer Senju," said Karen, "I think Naruto and I should probably go to the infirmary."

The blond woman nodded. "Kakashi, you and the rest of your ANBU take Karen and Naruto to the infirmary, tell Shizune to give them both a full rundown. After that, the both of you are to come to my office, we have things to discuss."

"Understood," he looked over at Karen, who was lugging Naruto, "let's get moving."

"Right."

With that, Karen carried Naruto down the hallway surrounded by Kakashi and the remaining masked ANBU. Naruto grumbled a little in his sleep, but was otherwise fine. She smiled at that fact, but couldn't help but worry about the next time they ran into Sasuke Uchiha. If he could get into the FBPS...was anywhere safe?

**

* * *

And boom, just like that, it's over. I hope this appeased the appetites of all of you who were asking for some fight scenes. Trust me, if like this one, you'll love the next battle these two have.** **They probably won't interact again for a few chapters, but trust me, there is a rivalry growing here.**

**As for Naruto and Karen...well I think it's moving at a good enough pace so far, but that's a part of the story I won't be revealing any secrets about, you'll just have to keep reading to find out what happens between the two of them. **

**Review please.**

**(I swear to God though, if any of you even mention firearms, I'm coming to your house and bashing your skulls in with a lead pipe. Just ask my friend Jason...oh wait, you can't. Dead men tell no tales after all. MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!)**


	9. Chapter 9: Things Still to Come

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 9

**Things Still to Come**

**Disclaimer: ...Nope, still don't own Naruto...fuck.**

Once again guys, I want to start off by saying I'm sorry for the monster waiting time. I had lots of school work and a good portion of my time was spent up dating Fateful XIII as well. Anyway, some new I think you all should know before hand, after this chapter there will be a bit of a time-skip.

Nothing major that will propel us ten year in the future or anything, I'm just fast-forwarding a bit to the ending of Naruto's basic training. I know you guys probably don't want another four chapters of him just learning about things we already know everything about. Just because his training with Kakashi is done though, don't think he won't be improving his skills, he's still going to have a lot to learn afterwords.

Anyway, just thought I'd give you guys a heads up beforehand.

Read on!

* * *

Again, Naruto awoke in a daze. He felt disoriented and he his muscles were sore; he shook his head and cleared the grogginess from his head. He looked up at the ceiling and tried to remember what exactly happened last. He was in the gym, Sasuke showed up, they fought for a minute, and then he remembered getting shot. Then he also remembered getting up and punching Sasuke and sending him through a wall, then everything got blurry. All he remembered after that was a lot of anger and frustration, and the occasional jolts of pain. Other than that, it was a big blur.

He looked down when he heard the door open and saw a nurse pop her head in. When she saw he was awake she leaned back and looked a little down the hallway.

"I was wrong, he is awake," she said to someone Naruto couldn't see.

A mere two seconds after she uttered that sentence, she was knocked out of the way as a red blur swooped into the room. The next thing he knew, there was a sharp pain on the back of his head and he clasped onto it in pain.

"Ow! What the hell was that!?" he groaned.

He looked up to see Karen standing next to his bed with a raised fist, looking down at him with an angry face.

"What was that for!?" he shouted.

She grabbed him by the collar of his hospital gown and stuck her face right in front of his.

"That was for running off alone and knocking yourself unconscious _again_!" she shouted back.

He was about to argue with her again, but instead of yelling again he looked down with a more saddened look on his face. Partially because she was right and he had done all that, but mostly because he thought after yesterday she might have changed her attitude towards him a bit, namely he thought she'd at least stop punching him. Apparently he was wrong.

"I was scared to death you idiot."

That surprised him and he looked up again; her eyes had softened and she was smiling at him.

"Y-you were?"

She pulled him into a hug and held on tightly, refusing to let go.

"Of course, my best friend runs off to fight a crazy demon hunter and I'm going to freak out. Why wouldn't I be worried about you?"

At first he was too stunned to respond, but in the end, he was glad and had a goofy smile on his face.

"Well sorry about that, but I'm fine now and ready to get moving."

She moved back and continued to smile, shaking her head.

"You're such a goofball."

He smiled wider and gave her a thumbs up.

"Ah, Naruto, here I was worried you'd gotten lazy on me," said a calm voice from the doorway.

The pair looked over and saw Kakashi leaning against the door with his familiar book in hand. He sent an eye-smile their way and waved.

"Yo."

"Hey Kakashi, so what happened, is everybody alright? What happened to Sasuke?" asked Naruto eagerly.

Karen looked at him like he was crazy, which confused him. "You mean you don't remember?"

He shook his head.

"Are you serious, you mean to tell me you don't remember anything about kicking that bastard Sasuke's a-…"

She was interrupted as Kakashi quickly covered the length of the room and put a hand over Karen's mouth, silencing her.

"We'll be right back Naruto, just a sec," said Kakashi urgently.

He dragged the kicking and frustrated kitsune royalty out of the room and into the hallway. Once they were a good distance away, Kakashi released his grip, leaving a fuming girl in front of him.

"What was that about!?"

"Karen," he said just above a whisper, "you can't mention anything about what happened yesterday."

Now she was confused to. "Why not?"

"Do you remember back when Naruto almost died on that day when you were at the cemetery?"

She nodded.

"Well when your fellow kitsune revived him, he gave him something…extra."

She tilted her head, not understanding what he was trying to say.

"What do you mean by 'extra'?"

"I mean, he now has kitsune powers, and I mean all of them. The enhanced strength, speed, and senses, the increased reserves of magical energy, his life span has even been jacked up. He had some demon ancestry so the demonic energies that he was exposed to were amplified, increased the potency of the powers he was already being given. The downside to this is his mental discipline isn't able to suppress the kitsune's natural violent tendencies, and when in that state, he becomes much more violent and uncontrollable."

Karen was shocked by the sudden revelation, but tried to remain rational.

"So…what do we do?"

Kakashi sighed. "Well, I'm hoping as time goes on and he gets stronger that his control over his powers will improve. We shouldn't have to worry about them popping out whenever though, he seems to be able to call on them only when he's on the verge of death, and to keep them going he has to remain angry."

She looked up at him with determined eyes.

"What can I do to help?"

Kakashi sighed again and looked into Naruto's room; the boy was lying laxly in his bed, looking up at the ceiling in what appeared to be deep thought.

"Right now, not much; the only thing I have to ask of you is that you be there for him. When I look at him, I see his father more than anything, and it isn't just the looks. His mother had a big influence on him for sure, his attitude and his mouth are evidence of that, but underneath that is his father."

Karen looked up at Kakashi as he watched fiddle was his beds blanket, looking bored.

"I know he'll need you. Naruto is his father in the aspect that he's always going to be trying to protect everyone; he'll give away all his hope and happiness leaving none of it for himself. Karen, I'm relying on you to help him hold onto his spirit; give him happiness when he doesn't have any, keep him moving forward. He's got an extremely hard road ahead, and without anyone to help hold him up, even he'll eventually break apart. The same goes for you; don't be afraid to ask him for help, you can't make it all on your own either. You two need to rely on each other, you're in this together."

She looked at Naruto, her fingers against the glass, and decided it was time to start repaying him for everything for all the things he had done for her. Even early on when she was a jerk to him and brushed him aside like he was nothing special, he still went out of his way to watch out for her. She had a lot to give back, so it was time to start paying up.

She walked into Naruto's room with high spirits, determined to do just as Kakashi had said, to keep him going through hard times and support him any way she could. If one could see under Kakashi's mask, they would see a smile on his face, smiling at how the two of them acted with each other. Despite all the teasing and the little pranks, they were closer than most people would think.

The part that made him the happiest though, was when he looked at the fox girl and the blond, he could have sworn, just for a moment, that he was staring at Kushina and Minato.

He was a little sad though; looking on at Naruto, a teenager with the soul and innocence of a child, and Karen, an emotionally traumatized girl who just wanted to live in peace, it was almost a tragedy what they were going to be put through in the future. With Sasuke as well as the kitsune hounding them down, eventually even the FBPS wouldn't be safe; it was a political mess all over. If the kitsune found out that Karen was here, they would demand her back.

If they did, then Karen would certainly be killed. If they didn't though, a war was sure to break out, one that would suck in the rest of the supernatural world as well as the rest of the human nations. The death toll would be of apocalyptic proportions.

Then there was Naruto's predicament; his powers had become quite a problem with the director and some of the higher ups. He was still wondering what would happen to the boy after the meeting yesterday.

Flashback

"_Kakashi," said Tsunade, "this is a serious problem, what are we going to do with Naruto?"_

"_Ma'am, if I might be so bold, it has only been…what, not even half a week? This isn't something that can happen overnight, and you have to admit, these were some pretty extreme circumstances."_

_She nodded. "I realize that Kakashi, but I need to know if this will be something happening frequently; I was able to keep the incident quiet from everyone who saw it this time, but what if the next time this happens he's out in the public, what if someone gets killed?"_

"_Well, from what I've observed so far, I think it's safe to assume that Naruto can't call on this power willingly, as it only seems to manifest itself when he's on the verge of death. Think about it, the first time he used it, he had just been impaled through the chest, and from what Karen told me, this time he'd been shot in the head. Both of which he should never have survived but did thanks to those powers taking over," defended Kakashi._

_Tsunade leaned back in her seat and sighed._

"_Fine, I'll give you some more time Kakashi, both because I know it will be a slow process, and because I know it was under unusual circumstances. If there's another incident like this though, I'll be forced to take action. I can't keep him safe forever."_

End of Flashback

He sighed; those two would sure have a lot to deal with. There was at least one thing that would keep them going forward though; at least they had each other.

* * *

Back in Orochimaru's underground base, Sasuke had just returned from his assault on the FBPS headquarters. He was still aching and sore from the beating that Naruto had given him with that strange new power of his. He was still wondering what the blond could have done in such a short time to make him so strong; he had to know his secrets.

He made his way to Orochimaru's main chamber; the slithering snake of a man was sitting atop a throne on the other end of the room. His piercing gaze hit Sasuke immediately, and locked onto him as he marched up to his seat.

Sasuke was a unique boy; he didn't cower in fear like most did when in his presence. In fact, Sasuke openly showed him _dis_respect, namely calling him just Orochimaru, and not bowing when entering his presence. Though he would have quickly killed anyone to insult him so, he could see Sasuke was a special case, and decided that he liked that fire in him. He encouraged a certain amount of disobedience from him…but not too much.

"What have you to report Sasuke, were you successful."

"I…no, I wasn't Orochimaru."

The mans eye twitched at the news, but decided that if Sasuke was defeated, then it must have been for an good reason, and in this defeat could lay some new information that he could use.

"Explain," he hissed.

"The boy, Naruto, he had…a new power. It was like nothing I've ever seen; his body glowed orange and red like he was on fire and his strength was unreal. He was with two grenades and my Grand Fireball spell all at point blank range and he didn't even have a scratch on him. He was…inhuman."

From his description alone, Orochimaru could tell what had gone wrong. This boy, this Naruto, obviously had been given the Kitsune's Gift. This was troubling news; his powers were most likely raw and uncontrollable now, but if he learned to grasp them and use them at will…well he would be a very, _very_ big problem.

"Sasuke, this boy has a very unique gift, one that is not to be taken lightly. You would need your curse seals power to hope to match him in that state."

Sasuke growled, but remained calm.

"What do we do then?"

"The FBPS will most definitely be on high alert for quite some time after that attack, so infiltration again will be impossible. We will have to bide our time, until that time, hone your skills and strengthen yourself; you will need all the power you can acquire."

Sasuke nodded. "I plan to."

"That reminds me by boy, I have a small present for you," he said in his sly voice as she threw an object at Sasuke, which he easily caught.

He looked down at it; at first he had no idea what it was, only that it was narrow but long and was a bit heavy, but light enough to move around freely. He realized that there was a small divide near one end, and deduced that it must be a handle. He pulled on it, revealing a shining blade inside.

It was straight and sharp; he recognized it as a chokuto blade. (A/N: Translates to: Straight Sword)

"I'll be instructing you in its use later, it will be of great use to you," said Orochimaru.

He smirked and put the blade back in its sheath. He was going to train hard until he was stronger than Naruto, no loser blond was going to beat an Uchiha.

* * *

Naruto and Karen both burst out laughing. Naruto had just been recounting the time where he spray-painted the statue of his schools founder, and the subsequent chase scene.

"A-and so...I'm running down the halls with three teachers on my ass, all screaming at me to slow down before kill someone. Then, sure enough, out of nowhere, my favorite teacher Mr. Umino runs around the corner as I'm coming up on it and BAM!" he shouted as he clapped his hands together to signify the impact, "We both smack into each other face first and knock each other unconscious!"

Karen had to hold onto Naruto's bed to keep from falling over. She leaned over and hit the edge of the thin mattress with her fist as she laughed wildly. Naruto was laughing as well, almost to the point of having his eyes water.

"Oh...oh God Naruto, that's hilarious. I can't believe you did that."

He snickered with his fox-like grin on his face, "Heh, I got a million of em'"

The two of them took some deep breaths and finally settled down, Naruto laid back in his bed while Karen reclined back in her seat. Naruto stared at the ceiling and groaned; he hated hospitals.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just hate hospitals so much! I want to be back in the gym training!" he growled.

"I know you do, but you have to be patient, they'll let you go in the morning after you've rested properly. There's no rush Naruto."

"Yes there is!" he shouted back.

She gave him a confused look. "Why is there a rush?"

"Because," he said looking serious, "Sasuke...he's way better than me, I can't deny that. I need to train as much as possible, so I can match him and beat him; he's my first stepping stone to reaching my parent's level. Plus, he tried to hurt you, and there's no way I'm letting that slide. Nobody screws with people precious to me, that especially goes for pretty-boy emo fagots!"

As he ranted about getting stronger, he didn't notice Karen blush when he said that she was precious to him. Once he settled down again, he sighed.

"So..." said Karen, "what do you think is going to happen now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, one you finish your training and stuff, what are we going to do next? Are we going to spend the rest of our lives couped up in this place?" she asked with a hint of nervousness.

"Of course not, you'll be home in no time! I'll find a way to get you back home, just you wait, you'll be sitting on that throne where you belong before you know it!" he said confidently.

She smiled, but still sighed.

"Ya know," she started, "I've sort of gotten used to being bonded to you, not having that link between us will be kind of weird, once we're finally free of it."

He nodded.

"Yeah, it's gotten to me a little to, kind of nice though."

"Nice?"

"Yeah, nice. It's kind of like a feeling...like I know I'll never be alone, I'll always have someone there to watch my back."

She nodded. "That's sort of how it feels for me to."

"Hey, since we're not always gonna be bonded, let's make a promise, a promise that no matter where we end up in the world, we'll always protect each other. No matter what kind of danger it is, we'll come to each others rescue and have each others backs."

"Alright then, a promise it is," she agreed.

Naruto smiled and extended his arm and hand his hand balled into a fist except for his pinky.

"A pinky swear, I think we're a little old for that."

He shrugged. "Come on, just humor me."

Karen smiled and wrapped her pinky around his, and that was that.

"There, it's an official promise. Just so you know, kitsune always hold to their promises, so even if you don't want me to come save your sorry ass, I'm going to anyway."

He grinned widely again. "That's alright, I'd do the same for you anyway. Now whatever happens, we'll face it together as a team. Let life throw all the Sasuke's and supernatural baddies it wants at us, we'll take em' all down!"

"Yeah," Karen agreed, "together."

**

* * *

**

**Okay, like I said, there will be a time-skip next chapter. Naruto will pretty much be done with all his training, except of course his swordsmanship, but he'll have that down sooner or later, I promise. Some more Naruto characters will be introduced in the next few chapters, so look forward to that.**

**Oh, and for all of you who might be complaining that Naruto and Karen aren't making any noticeable "progress", then shut up, you'll like the next few chapters.  
**

**I'll have the next chapter up...whenever.**

**Review! **


	10. Chapter 10: What am I?

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 10

**What am I?  
**

**Disclaimer: **Nooooooooooo...

Hey guys, I'm back again! Normally I'd have updated Fateful XIII before this story, but I've sort of hit some writers block there and I didn't see why you guys should have to suffer, so here you are.

**

* * *

**

_**"A friend is one to whom one can pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keeping what is worth keeping, and, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away." - **_**Arabian Proverb**_**  
**_

* * *

Tsunade sat down at her desk once more, but was actually a bit excited, which was very unusual. You see, it had been a little over three months since Naruto had been brought to the FBPS headquarters. His basic training was officially finished today, and he if he had good marks, he would be granted the official rank of 'junior surveillance officer'.

She opened the top file on her desk marked with the blonds name and looked down at the file with his marks. It read:

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

_Trainee: Naruto Uzumaki (Namikaze)_

_Hand to hand__: exceptional_

_Kenjutsu:__ above average_

_Magic:__ average_

_Stealth__: below average_

_Intelligence__: average _

_Marksmanship__: slightly above average_

_Ingenuity/Resourcefulness__: exceptional_

_Overall score__: 8.5/10_

_Summery__: Naruto is well versed in hand-to-hand combat and has made great strides in Kushina Uzumaki's __Ouichi-Tsukeme__ style. On the other hand, he has difficulty grasping basic spells, though I have deduced that this is because of his enormous reserves of energy and he was able to master more advanced skills, therefore, I was lenient on his score. _

_Naruto simply cannot master stealth, and while he is fast and agile, he has a problem with simply being too loud. His intelligence is average, scoring straight C's on all his written tests, though it should be noted that his Ingenuity and Resourcefulness has been rated as exceptional. I believe his scores were a result of lack of interest rather than being un-intelligent._

_His Marksmanship is impressive, though he is still primarily a melee fighter and should remain so. All in all, I highly recommend Naruto Uzumaki; he is dedicated to his training and is as much a prodigy as his father…when he wants to be._

_Thank you for your time,_

_-Agent Kakashi Hatake,_

__-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_  
_

Tsunade smirked at the papers, it was just as impressive as she had expected. She admitted she was a bit disappointed with his stealth scores, but then again, he was his mother's son. Kushina had never been much of a subtle person either.

In the end though, she agreed with Kakashi; even without the situation Naruto was in, he still deserved the rank. His scores were impressive and she felt a swell of pride as she lifted her "approved" stamp and planted the red mark on the paper. She closed the file and decided to deliver the news to him personally; this was something she didn't want to miss.

* * *

When she arrived at the gym, she was greeted by a now normal sight. Naruto was in the middle of the sparring mat, taking on Rock Lee, a junior agent only one year older than him. Karen was sitting in a chair watching the fight intently.

Lee had dubbed Naruto his "arch rival", and challenged him to fights and competitions whenever possible. Naruto had made astounding progress with his fighting ability, and could now go toe-to-toe with Lee and present a decent challenge.

She felt another swell of pride as she watched him fight Lee in a bare knuckle battle of the fists.

Lee threw a roundhouse kick at the blond, which he ducked under and threw a punch with his right fist. Lee quickly rebounded from the miss and caught the punch, to which Naruto slammed his left leg into Lee's side. The Bruce Lee wannabe let go of his fist but wrapped his arm around Naruto's leg.

He swung Naruto around in a circle and let go, sending him tumbling across the room, landing on his back. The blond quickly hopped back up and got back into a fighting stance to which Lee quickly followed. The two charged each other at the same; Lee still being significantly faster, made it to Naruto first.

The blond threw a straight forward punch, as did Lee. The two caught each others assaults, and after a brief struggle for dominance, Lee twisted to the side, completely flipping Naruto over onto his back. Naruto attempted to sweep his leg under Lee's as he regained his balance, but it was in vain as he simply jumped over the attack. He quickly followed up that attack however, with a swift kick to Lee's chin, which connected and sent him tumbling back.

The two were back at square one; both of them on opposite ends of the mat, panting in their respective fighting positions. Tsunade thought it would be a good time to break it up, and applauded them both, gaining all their attention. Lee gave her a swift salute and stood rigid and Karen a slight bow, while Naruto just scratched his head and waved. She disregarded the boys' lack of respect for a moment, and instead focused on why she was here.

"Naruto, I have something here for you," she said waving the folder with his evaluation inside.

He gave her a confused look.

"What's that?"

She tossed it to him with a smirk.

"Open it and find out."

He eyed her suspiciously, but did as instructed, and opened the folder. He looked over his evaluations sheet, and smiled at himself, he was proud of his marks, even if he had completely blown off stealth. His smile grew even wider when he was the big, fat "approved" stamp mark on it. He looked up with a gleam in his eyes.

"So does this mean…"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, as of today, you are officially and agent of the FBPS," she said extending her hand, "welcome."

He took it eagerly.

"Oh what a joyous occasion this is indeed," shouted Lee, "I wish I could stay and celebrate with you my eternal rival, but I must inform Gai-sensei of this, he will be so pleased!"

Without another word, he ran off into the hall and was gone. Naruto chuckled at the guys antics.

"Man he's weird, but he's cool."

He turned back to Tsunade.

"So, what do I have to do now?"

"Well, I'll have Kakashi come and get you for all the official processing, then after that, there's something we need to discuss, but for now, you've got some free time."

He nodded.

"That's all I have for you right now, so I'll be going," she said as she walked out the door, "Congratulations Naruto, you really are your parents son."

The blonds eyes widened when he heard her say that, then he was overwhelmed with a feeling of pride. He was brought out of his trance though, when Karen walked up and hugged him, to which he smiled.

"Congratulations knucklehead!"

He smiled widely and laughed. Over the last three months, Naruto and Karen had only gotten closer and now acted like they were actually best friends. In fact, even if they weren't magically and mentally bonded together, they'd still be practically inseparable.

She stepped back and Naruto put the folder under his arm.

"Hey, we've got some downtime, let's go grab some lunch."

She smiled and nodded.

"Sure."

* * *

Once again, Kakashi was sitting in Tsunade's office, this time on a much better note. They were discussing how to best break free the magical bond between Naruto and Karen. It was good that it helped them become so close, but it was still a safety concern. Tsunade already had a plan that would most likely free them both, and would be especially beneficial to Naruto, but that didn't mean she was comfortable with it.

"So do you really think this is necessary?" asked Kakashi.

Tsunade nodded slowly.

"Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, I'll need his help. After all, if there's a seal that can cancel out the affects of the bond, he'll know about it."

"Do we even know where he is?"

Again she nodded.

"We spotted him in the high mountains of northern Japan."

Kakashi sighed, he didn't like this. It was going to be dangerous being so far from any support the FBPS could have normally given them.

"I think," she started, "along with the obvious benefits, Naruto would like an opportunity to meet someone so intimate with his family; there are only so many questions I can answer, but _he's_ got to have hundreds of stories."

He knew there was no getting out of this, so he conceded and resigned himself to his fate.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow, it'll give you three time to prepare. Now...onto an issue a little more pressing."

"Let me guess," said Kakashi, "Naruto's demonic powers, right?"

She nodded with a worried expression.

"Well, I can't honestly say how much control he may have gained over it, but I don't exactly want to test it."

It was Tsunade's turn to sigh.

"You know we'll have to tell him right? I plan on doing it today; as a matter of fact, could you go get him, better we get this over with now rather than later."

"Right away," agreed Kakashi.

* * *

Naruto and Karen were both sitting in the cafeteria; Karen eating a sandwich while Naruto was devouring (what else) some ramen. It was pretty quiet until, out of no where, Kakashi decided to just poof in with his magical smoke, surprising both of them to the extent where they almost choked on their food and fell out of their chairs. Once Naruto caught his breath he looked up at the elder agent with and growled.

"What the hell is wrong with you Kakashi, you trying to give me a heart attack or something!?" he shouted.

"I'm sorry if I startled you Naruto," he said, not even looking up from the book he was reading, "but Director Senju wants to see you right away, its important."

Naruto sighed.

"Alright, come on Karen, lets see what granny Tsunade wants," he grumbled.

Kakashi stood there with a worried expression under his mask, hoping to God Naruto didn't make a habit out of that nickname. The only thing that could come of it were injuries.

He shook off the mental image of the Director beating the poor boy to death, and instead thought of the upcoming discussion. He knew he should probably be there, so for once, he decided to be punctual and, once again, disappeared.

* * *

Naruto gave three light taps to the door of Director Senju's office, to which he received a muffled, "come in." He did just that and looked around the familiar office.

Tsunade sat behind her desk as always, Shizune was seated next to her, which was also common, and Kakashi stood to her other side, which _wasn't_ all that common. If all three of them were here at once, then this was probably more important than he thought; he sat down feeling slightly nervous.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked.

Tsunade cleared her throat apprehensively before beginning.

"Naruto...do you remember about three months ago when you and Karen were at the cemetery in Konoha city?"

He nodded.

"Well, I'm not going to beat around the bush with you here. When the kistune attacked you there, and you were impaled through the heart, you were revived by the four-tailed kitsune that arrived to help you. He sacrificed his own life to heal your injuries and keep you alive...but he also gave you something else."

He gave her a confused look.

"What else did he give me?"

She sighed and leaned forward onto her desk.

"Naruto, he gave you what is called "The Kitsune's Gift". Basically, he transferred his demonic abilities and powers to you, so in essence, you are now under the classification of...half demon. Half kitsune to be precise; you now have enhanced physical abilities and senses, your life-span is longer, and you have larger reserves of magical energy."

She was expecting a million questions to be shot at her from every direction by the boy, but to her surprise, he only asked one.

"So...what's going to happen to me now?"

She sat back in her chair now, gaining hope that he might handle this maturely.

"Well, an old friend of mine, who goes by the name of Jiraiya, is currently in Japan and can help you. While you're with him he'll attempt to break the magical bond between you and Karen, give you additional training, and help you with your demonic abilities."

He nodded in silence.

"One more question," he asked quietly, "those memory blackouts from a while ago, like when Sasuke attacked us...is this why I can't remember those moments?"

This time Kakashi spoke up.

"That's correct Naruto, after he shot you, your demonic abilities awoke and you fought him off. While in that state, you're endurance and strength are phenomenal, but you're so blinded by rage, that it's hard for you to tell who the enemy is. That's why this is such a large concern."

"Okay," the blond nodded, "I get it now...I'm a threat, a safety hazard."

Tsunade shook her head.

"No Naruto, you're not a safety hazard and you're not a threat."

"Then what am I!?" he suddenly shouted.

He stared at them angrily for a moment, and got no answer; none of them would even look him in the eye.

"That's what I thought," he said, standing up in frustration; he walked out of the room and slammed the door. Karen was the only one to even go after him.

Tsunade rubbed her temples and sighed.

"That didn't go very well," she pointed out.

"There wasn't much more we could have hoped for," said Kakashi, not much happier with the outcome.

* * *

"Naruto!" called Karen.

The blond still didn't stop; this was the fourth time she'd called his name and he kept on moving as if he didn't hear her. He rounded a corner and made it to the hallway where their rooms were. He threw his door open and slammed it closed just as Karen was about to run in after him, coming dangerously close to smacking it into her nose. She proceeded to bang on his door.

"Naruto, open up!"

...no response.

"Damn it Naruto, if you don't open this door right now I'm knocking it down!" she shouted threateningly.

...still no response.

"Alright then, one...two...three!"

As she yelled three she raised her foot up and was about to kick it down when the blond finally admitted defeat and opened the door. She lowered her foot and settled down herself.

"Can I come in?" she asked in a much softer voice.

He still didn't speak but nodded, and she stepped over the threshold. Naruto sat back down on his bed, head hanging low, and Karen sat down next to him.

"So...do you want to talk?"

After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke up.

"It isn't fair..." he muttered.

"What isn't fair?"

"...everything. At first I thought it was cool; I found you and I found out that all those bedtime stories were real, that demons and monsters really do exist. Then everything sunk in; people were trying to kill us, not just you, but me to. Sasuke, Kitsune assassins, the FBPS, and now I find out I'm half demon. It's too much, I'm only sixteen, this shouldn't be happening to me," he said in a trembling voice.

Karen saw a few tears drip down his face and onto the floor. She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. Karen finally under stood what Kakashi meant when they were talking outside his hospital room.

_'He's got an extremely hard road ahead, and without anyone to help hold him up, even he'll eventually break apart.'_

"This s-sucks...even Kakashi and...a-and granny Tsunade are afraid of me. They...they didn't bother to t-tell me...they kept it all secret! You knew to...d-didn't you!" he practically shouted, now opening crying.

Karen nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I did. I didn't know what to do though; when Kakashi told me, he said not to mention it, and I didn't want to do something that might have ended up hurting you more, so I kept my mouth shut. If I had know you would be this upset I would have told you right form the start...I'm sorry. You have to believe me Naruto, you're the most important person in the world to me, I didn't do this to hurt you, and neither did Kakashi or Tsunade, or anyone else. They were just as confused as you are."

He swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths, settling himself down a bit; Karen tightened her grip and held him closer.

"Naruto, when my parents died, I was all alone, I didn't have anyone left. Ever since I met you though, you've helped fill that hole that they left, and because of that, you're the most precious person to me in the world. You've saved my life so many times, and you've comforted me when I needed it, even when I was a complete jerk to you. I would never, and could never be afraid of you."

He took another few deep breaths and finally settled down to the point where he stopped crying. Karen let go of him when he moved to sit up, and he took one more deep breath.

"I...believe you. I'm sorry I freak out so much...it's just I'm having trouble taking all this in, it's only been three months since all this started and I can't seem to keep up."

"It's alright; even though you're always smiling, I saw what was sitting behind it. I'm glad you finally got it out."

He nodded.

"Me to," he agreed, "but I'm kind of tired, would you mind if I went to sleep for a while. I didn't get much sleep last night."

She smiled and nodded, getting up from her seat, letting him lay down. He scooted over and spread down on his bed, laying on his back. Karen looked back at him as she stood at the threshold of his door. She smiled as the blond was already slumped over asleep, and shut off his lights.

"Sweet dreams Naruto."

**

* * *

**

**Okay...so there's that. This chapter was a little iffy for me, but you be the judges. I personally thought that last scene was pretty good if I do say so myself though. **

**Ladies****, can you believe I'm single?**

**Anyway, go ahead and shower me with reviews as you always do! **


	11. Chapter 11: A Change of Plans

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 11

**A Change of Plans  
**

Okay, so I FINALLY updated! It's been a really long time, eh?

I've just been so busy with my return to school and my bowling team, plus I haven't been exactly motivated to write at all as of late, so it all boiled down to a very messy situation all around. I _still_ have an English project due next week that I haven't even started on yet, plus I have to help my sister in her war against geometry, so I've got a busy few days ahead of me.

Anyway, enough of my woes, let's get to the chapter you guys are probably ready to kill me over.

* * *

Naruto yawned and stretched as he woke up again. He looked over at his clock as he wiped the dreariness from his eyes; it was seven in the morning. It didn't surprise him that he was awake so early, Kakashi was a slave driver and he had gone to bed extremely early yesterday anyway.

He threw his legs off his bed and stood up, cracking all back and neck as he rose. He felt pretty hungry, and thought about heading to the cafeteria, but decided he had something a little more important to do first. He decided that he needed to go apologize to Tsunade and Kakashi about how he acted the previous day. He opened his door, only to find Karen on the other side with a surprised face. She was wearing a simple red T-shirt and some plain blue jeans along with a pair of black and white sneakers on her feet.

"Oh, what a coincidence, I was just about to wake you up."

He gave her a blank look.

"You were going to wake me up at seven in the morning?"

She smiled innocently and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm hungry and you went to bed early, now come on, let's go get breakfast."

"Not yet," he said, "I want to go talk to Tsunade first. I want to let her know I'm alright now; she and Kakashi both are probably a little upset."

"Alright, first some apologize and such, then breakfast," she conceded as Naruto walked past her into the hallway.

"Yes, then breakfast," he said with a laugh.

* * *

Tsunade sat at her desk as usual, doing her long overdo paperwork. It was harder than usual for her to concentrate on her work though; she couldn't get her thoughts off the conversation with Naruto the previous day. As the Bureau director, she wasn't supposed to play favorites, but it was easier said than done when it came to Naruto. She'd known both his parents and they were good friends, not to mention she saw so much of each of them in him.

That conversation was one of the hardest moments in her career to date. Having to tell the boy who she technically saw as her own grandson that he had been altered by a demon and he was -under all existing guidelines- a security risk, was heartbreaking. Then there was the look on his face afterwards; that was even worse. She'd never seen a look so…emotionless on someone like him before, it worried her to no end.

She looked up suddenly when she heard three familiar taps on her door.

"Come in," she said with a hint of eagerness.

She wasn't sure if she should have felt nervous or relieved when Naruto walked into her office alone. He didn't seem nearly as upset as he did yesterday, but his expression was still one of seriousness. He calmly took a seat across from her.

"What can I do for you Naruto?"

He looked up at her with, as she noticed, much more life and relief in his eyes. That fact put her slightly at ease.

"Actually, I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay, and I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday. The whole thing just caught me off guard and I wasn't sure how to deal with it, but I've come to terms with it and I'm alright," he said, cracking a small smile near the end.

"I've decided that I want to go see that friend of yours so he can help me, then when I come back, I'll be able to control these demon powers of mine and kick more asses then ever!"

Tsunade resisted the urge to sigh in relief; her blond idiot was back. She looked back at him and smiled.

"Don't worry Naruto; you don't have anything to apologize for. I know what I told you yesterday probably scared you a little, so I'll let it slide this time."

He smiled back.

"Thanks, so when do I leave to meet this Jiraiya guy?"

"Today, I want you under his supervision as soon as possible. Plus, it'll be a challenge just to find him; he's a very reclusive person when he doesn't want to be found."

He nodded.

"Well, if I'm leaving today, then I guess I should probably say goodbye, so I guess I'll see you soon then. I'll come back even stronger than I am now, just you wait," he smiled as he walked over to the door.

"Naruto," said Tsunade.

He looked over his shoulder with a slightly confused look on his face.

"When you do find him, make sure to keep an eye on Karen at all times. He's a bit of a pervert, so don't let him get any funny ideas."

Again, he nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, if he tries anything, I'll just break his arms," he said. With that, he walked back out into the hallway.

Tsunade chuckled at little to herself, but honestly wasn't sure if the boy was joking or not. After all, it was no secret that he was pretty protective of Karen, so she wouldn't really put it past him. She prayed for Jiraiya's sake, that it was just a joke.

* * *

Naruto closed the door calmly behind him; he was glad to have that done. One the door was securely closed, he looked over and saw Karen patiently waiting in a chair outside the room. She looked up at him when she heard the door close.

"So, how did it go?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"It was a little less difficult than I thought. She was actually pretty understanding."

"Told you she would be," she said as she stood up from her chair. He smiled and began walking down the hallway, with the redhead close behind.

"So, can we go get breakfast _now_?" she whined, pulling at his right arm.

He sighed and laughed lightly.

"Yeah, we can go eat now."

"Yay!" she said happily, practically dragging poor Naruto down the halls toward the cafeteria.

As the fox-girl lugged the blond down the hall at high speeds, they passed what Naruto could only identify as a silver haired blur, but in reality, was Kakashi. The senior FBPS agent watched in half confusion, and half amusement as his -as of yesterday- former student was being pulled down the halls of their headquarters by an over excited and, judging by their direction, probably starving kitsune.

As much as he knew he should probably just walk away, -he learned to stay out of Karen's way when she was hungry a long time ago-, he had to get Naruto ready and out the door as soon as possible. He walked down the hallway towards the cafeteria, thinking about what he was going to say. He imagined things might still be a little tense when it came to Naruto. Even though he stopped at Karen's room later the previous day and she had said she had gotten him past some of it and he was doing better, he was still a bit nervous about how he would act around him now.

He sincerely hoped that he could patch things up with the boy. After all, he'd just spent three months with him teaching him almost everything he knew, and on top of that, his father Minato had been his teacher when he was new to the FBPS, and to have the mans son dislike him would hurt him and make things extremely difficult for the both of them.

As Kakashi walked into the cafeteria, it didn't take him long to notice Naruto and Karen sitting at a table near the middle of the room. They were sitting with a few of the other agents around Naruto's age. Karen sat to his right, Lee sat to his left, and Neji across from him. Shikimaru Nara and Choji Akamichi were also sitting with them as well; the two had met Naruto soon after they had been released from the hospital after their run-in with Sasuke, and they both took a strange liking to him.

Choji because they both loved to eat in huge quantities, and Shikimaru because Naruto knew how to be just as lazy as him when he wanted to be, and they both liked to play chess, though Naruto was never very good at the game and lost every match.

The silver haired agent walked up to the group of teens, catching the attention of Naruto and Karen first, the the rest of the group. Kakashi was actually a little nervous inside, but kept his regular aloof and lazy exterior.

"Yo, Naruto. I hope you're ready for our little trip today," he began.

The blond nodded.

"Sure am, when do we leave?"

Kakashi, who was a little surprised at how casual Naruto's attitude was towards him despite the "incident" yesterday, took a moment to look at the watch on his wrist, then shrugged.

"Eh, about an hour give or take."

"Alright, well once me and Karen finish here, we'll grab our stuff and be ready to go."

Kakashi nodded.

"Good, it'd be a shame if we missed our flight."

As he was turning to leave, deciding to leave an apology for a later time when they weren't in such a public area, Naruto spoke up again.

"Hey Kakashi, I just wanted to say I was sorry about how I freaked out yesterday. I'm okay now though, and I'm not mad at you or anything, so I'll see ya in an hour," he said with his trademark smile.

Kakashi smiled under his mask and nodded.

"Right, I'll see you in an hour then," he said, then turned and left him to his meal.

* * *

Once Naruto and Karen had finished their breakfast, they both went back to get their stuff together. Karen had already gotten everything of hers in a suitcase. She had a few sets of clothes, some basic hygiene equipment, and some personal stuff. Naruto was randomly throwing clothes into his suitcase, and was just generally disorganized as he packed away everything while Karen sat on his bed, wondering how he ever found anything with his organizational skills.

His flinging of clothes was interrupted however, when he heard a series of knocks on his door, which he promptly answered. On the other side of the door was Kakashi, calmly reading his "romance novel". He had a suitcase of his own leaning against the wall next to his door.

"Yo, so are you two ready?"

The blond nodded.

"Just finishing now."

With that he walked over, slammed his suitcase shut, then sat on it to cram everything down before finally locking it shut. Kakashi watched the whole spectacle and sighed; organization was never something he was able to teach him.

"Are you sure you have everything?" he asked as Naruto stepped into the hallway.

"Yeah."

"Did you make a trip to the armory and seal a few weapons into your storage scrolls?"

"Yes."

"Do you have your sword stored in one as well?"

Naruto sighed.

"Yea, I have my sword to."

"Did you pack fresh underwear?" he joked. He heard Karen giggle behind then and scowled.

"Did you pack your SHUT THE HELL UP!" he shouted back.

"Naruto, calm down, it was just a joke," scolded Karen.

He remained silent, but still had a face like he was upset. He wasn't in reality, Karen and Kakashi both knew that that was just Naruto being Naruto.

The trio walked into an elevator, and Kakashi pressed the button that led them to the first floor. One their, their progress was much increased as not as many people worked on the first floor; it was the equivalent of a basement for the FBPS, being an underground complex. It was rare to pass more than three people in five minutes, and the main elevator that led to the surface and the first floor of the Pentagon was in front of them before they knew it.

Naruto waited patiently as they ascended towards the surface, which was a rare thing indeed. Both Kakashi and Karen were amazed that he wasn't bouncing off the walls, after all, this would be his first time off the base in three months. Surprisingly enough, he was quiet as a church mouse on the way up, and on the whole way out of the Pentagon. This was why a sharp jolt of surprise shot through both of them when Naruto suddenly burst out of the front doors of the building, took a deep breath, and screamed, "I'M BACK WORLD, DID YA MISS ME!?"

Upon seeing the scene, both the silver haired FBPS agent and red haired kitsune hung their and sighed; just when they thought they might be able to get out of the city embarrassment free.

* * *

In a completely different area of the country, the aforementioned blonds black haired rival was on his way to meet with his...business partner. The last three months of training had been the most intense of his career as a demon hunter. He hadn't felt so motivated to train since right after his family was killed; his almost defeat at the hands of Naruto had added a gallon of gasoline on an already blazing flame. He now had _two_ people on his, "People I have to Kill", list.

His skills with his chokuto had exceeded all expectations, he had increased his abilities with his fire magic as well as a few other tricks he'd keep up his sleeve. His Sharingan nanites had also received an upgrade, and their ability to enhance his eyesight, reflexes, and physical strength had all been increased by an extra twenty-one percent.

He pushed aside all thoughts of battle and training for the time being as he entered Orochimaru's "throne room" as he perfered to call it. The snake-like man sat on the other end of the room in a large chair that did, in fact, resemble a throne. The raven haired teen walked further into the room and stopped directly in front of the the elder man, keeping up his habit of refusing to bow to him. He found that, while it wasn't something Orochimaru usually tolerated, his skills and past services allowed him some leeway, and left him the option to press a few of his buttons that most people would be decapitated for pressing.

"Sasuke," he said in his slithering voice, "good to see that you were able to make it here on time. I do admire punctuality."

Sasuke merely brushed aside the empty compliment and got down to business.

"Don't waste my time Orochimaru, just tell me why you called me here," he said bluntly.

The snake man chuckled in his usual high and mighty manner. Sasuke always did hate that laugh, it made him feel as though Orochimaru somehow thought he was better than he was, and under normal circumstances, he didn't tolerate being looked down upon for any reason. Unfortunately for him, these weren't normal circumstances. As much as he hated to admit it, he still needed the strange mans tutelage and knowledge; for now he held his tongue and listened.

"Very well, since your in such a hurry, I'll get right to the point. It seems Naruto Uzumaki and the kitsune brat are finally on the move. According to my informants, they're in search of one of my former comrades, a man by the name Jiraiya," he explained.

"My latest intel is that he is in the high mountains of northern Japan, so finding him would be difficult. Uzumaki along with Kakashi and the girl will be landing in the city of Sapporo; I have several agents there already that have the city under surveillance, and they will assist you in locating them before they reach dear old Jiraiya. I warn you though; if they do succeed in reaching the fool, do not engage him, he is well beyond your abilities, and I would hate to have you sent back to me in a body bag."

"Whatever, it sounds easy enough," scoffed Sasuke, "just find Uzumaki, kill the girl, and get back here, simple."

"Actually my dear Sasuke," began Orochimaru, "there's been a change of plans regarding the girl and the Uzumaki boy."

The teenage demon hunter raised an eyebrow in curiosity; what could possibly have made Orochimaru suddenly change his plans?

"Because of the Uzumaki's unique situation of being a bearer of the Kitsune's Gift, Kabuto has expressed interest in studying him in detail. When confronting the group, I want the boy incapacitated and brought back here so he may be put under study, however you are still permitted to kill the girl unless of course, if by some stroke of misfortune, Uzumaki were to overpower you. In that rare and unlikely case, you are to capture the girl and retreat; she would make an excellent bargaining chip for the boy, among other things," he said snidely.

The change in plans were less than appealing to Sasuke. He'd finally found someone who could push his limits, and now he wasn't even permitted to kill him in combat. Sure he could still fight him and win without killing him, but the victory would almost seem hollow without defeating him completely. On top of that, handing the blond over to Kabuto wasn't exactly appealing either. Naruto was in fact his enemy, but still, anyone who could fight him on equal grounds and push him the way he had, deserved a _little_ respect, which was something he definitely wouldn't get from Kabuto. Still, there wasn't much he could do at the present time, so he merely nodded.

"Understood, I'll return with them both in hand," he agreed. With that, Sasuke turned and left the dark room to gather supplies for his newest assignment.

Orochimaru however, rose from his throne and walked over to the wall, and pressed in a protruding stone, causing a doorway to slide open. The new passageway revealed a large room much larger than the previous with a number of computers and scientific equipment. It was his personal lab that only he, and very rarely Kabuto, were permitted to enter. He kept all his most prized experiments and information in this room, away from the prying eyes of even his own servants.

Near the rear of the room though, was a line of stasis pods of his own design, able to keep all his biological subjects in perfect condition as long as they remained within. He walked to the end of the row of these pods and reached a metal door with a passcode only he knew; this was a room that no one would ever enter except himself.

He walked in and stopped in front of a particularly important stasis pod, and within, a very important person. It was the only person in his lab he had never laid a hand on, never experimented on, or even removed from the pod. Looking at the pod only made him more excited for the events to come; if Sasuke was indeed successful in capturing Naruto, then things would most definitely become extremely interesting.

_'Originally I had only intended to keep you as a sentimental piece my dear, but seeing as quite a few things have changed, I think you'll make Naruto's capture all the more entertaining.' _He thought with a evil smile as he looked on at the person swaying lightly in the liquid filled stasis pod.

If one were to look into the pod; one would see a grown woman floating quietly within. A woman with striking red hair.

**

* * *

Okay,** **if you've been paying attention to the history of this story at all, you should probably be able to figure out who this is.** **If you can't, then you'll find out after a while. **

**I ask that you not include your guesses in any reviews, but instead PM me with them so to not ruin any surprises for anyone who can't figure it out, though I state again, most of you should be able to piece it together if you've been paying attention. If you do guess correctly, you'll still probably be confused as hell, but don't worry, all this will make sense soon enough.  
**

**For now though, the main focus will be Naruto making contact with Jiraiya, and all the wacky trouble those two will get themselves into during the course of Naruto's tutelage.**

**I thank all of you for your patience, now if you would, then kindly review. (and feel free to tell me what a lazy prick I am.) **


	12. Chapter 12: In Search of the Sage

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 12

**In Search of the Sage  
**

Yo guys! Nope, still not dead, though it sure seemed like it, huh? I can actually explain this time! My other story I was working on alongside this one, The Fateful XIII, was almost finished, so I decided it would save a bunch of future time to just devote all my time to finishing it off.

Now, before we go any further, I'd like to apologize for the less than impressive previous chapter. I got a few complaints about it, and all of them justified and reasonable; it was critical thinking, not flames, which is what I like. I was by no means on the top of my game when I wrote chapter 11, and for that, I'm sorry; there was so much more I _could_ have done with it, but failed to execute. For those of you who reviewed, especially those who dished out the constructive criticism (you know who you are), thanks.

So, for all its worth, here's chapter 12.

**

* * *

**"Ah, finally outta there!" stretched a severely cramped Naruto.

The group of him, Kakashi, and Karen had just gotten off the plane and landed in Sapporo airport. They squeezed their way through the masses of people, trying to get outside to grab a taxi. When they finally did make it outside, Naruto took in his surroundings.

Even from the airport, Naruto could see the distant skyscrapers and twinkling lights. If what he could see form there was any indication, this place was probably even bigger than Konoha city, and his hometown was by no means small. He looked over to this left as a small taxi pulled up to them next to the curb.

Naruto and Karen handed him their suitcases, filled with the scrolls that housed their supplies, clothes, and weapons. Once he'd squared those away, they all got in the back seat, and Kakashi gave directions to the driver with some fluent Japanese. While the taxi drove out of the airport and into the city, Naruto looked out the window; bored.

Kakashi had already explained everything that would go down. There was a hidden Japanese style safe-house in the mountains, off the beaten path, that the FBPS used when in this particular area. It was stocked with food and other supplies, but since it was so far off the road, it took an hour or two to get there, hence them packing extra food and water.

The blond watched as neon lights of the downtown area flickered past him. He looked around to see if there was anything he could read. Kakashi had attempted to give him some linguistic lessons during training, but he wasn't too good at it. He probably would have gotten it eventually, but now that this mission had popped up, he would have to go with what little of the language he knew, which wasn't much; just enough to ask where the bathroom was and order some ramen.

He wasn't really sure how long he'd been sitting in the back seat of the taxi, but he assumed he'd zoned out for quite some time, seeing as the bustling city streets were now quieting down into suburbs. Less people walked the streets, and there was less traffic, allowing them to move much faster down the road. Naruto looked farther down the horizon, saw the mountains in the distance, and sighed; they were still quite a ways away.

"So Kakashi," began Naruto, "what's so special about this Jiraiya guy we're gonna see?"

Kakashi looked up from his book.

"Well Naruto, for one, he was the one who taught _your_ father everything he knew and then some. On top of that, he happens to be your god-father, and the one who gave you your name," he said calmly.

"Whoa, seriously; he must be insanely strong then! But wait, if he's my god-father, how come I've never seen him before, or even heard from him for that matter?" the blond asked, sounding a little insulted near the end.

"It's not that he didn't want to see you Naruto, quite the opposite. It's just, Jiraiya had devoted nearly all his life to the FBPS, and never had any children of his own. When your father came along, they became so close that it was understandable to mistake them for father and son. When your father died though, it left the man heartbroken and with a huge feeling of guilt for not being there to help him in battle. For a while, he refused to speak to anyone or even go on missions. He ended up leaving the FBPS all together a few weeks later, and hasn't had much contact with us, outside some helpful tips and contacts here and there. To be honest Naruto, I don't think he felt he deserved to see you after your parents died," he explained.

Naruto listened and nodded his head in understanding. He could get where the old man was coming from; it was natural to feel heartbreak and sorrow when you lost someone that close to you. Still though, blaming himself for it wouldn't do anything to help the situation. Naruto decided that the first thing he'd do was try and get the old man past his guilt; it would take a load of his mind, and he'd be a better teacher.

With renewed motivation and vigor, he looked out the window again with a determined smile, looking up at the mountains as they exited the suburbs and entered the city limits; the green behemoths slowly growing larger, eating up more of the horizon.

* * *

Back in the downtown area, one Sasuke Uchiha was making his way through a less than inviting neighborhood. He occasionally got some strange glances, but so far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The Uchiha was in told to just walk around and look causal until the agent or agents stationed here made contact with him. He presented no argument, but was still agitated by the whole situation. The fact that he was now unable to kill Naruto or his "fox bitch" as he came to call her, was a feeling that left a sick feeling in his stomach. How could he truely call himself the stronger one if they were both still alive?

Regardless of the situation, he came well prepared this time, ready for anything his blond adversary and their silver haired escort could throw at him. He had a vast assortment of grenades, including fragmentation, smoke, and flash-bang. He had two of his favorite handguns –the Glock 18c- along with a healthy stash of ammo stored away. His Sharingan nanite systems had gotten one last tune-up before departure, and his chokuto was sharpened to fine edge. He couldn't wait to see what these last few months had done for Naruto's skills; he'd show the loser that even with that power of his, he was, and always had been, superior.

Sasuke rounded a corner, and continued to walk causally, even though his ears had picked up some subtle movement coming from one of the alleys just up ahead. He guessed it was probably one of Orochimaru's agents coming to inform him of his prey's location.

Sure enough, a boy around his age emerged from the shadows, his arms crossed, leaning against the brick wall of the nearby building. Sasuke looked over, and sized up, the agent.

He was wearing urban-camo cargo pants, an tan long sleeve shirt with the word "Death" printed on it in black, and an urban-camo scarf around his neck. He wore a grey headband that held up his wild black hair. Overall he looked competent enough, but Sasuke could tell he was still no where near his level, and would probably just get in the way.

"I assume you're here to inform me about my targets location?" asked Sasuke.

He nodded.

"That's right, name's Zaku. My team and I have been trailing the FBPS losers since they got off the plane. When I broke off to get you, they were already in a taxi, driving outside the city."

"Where do you think they're heading?"

"We've been out here a while, and there have been a few FBPS agents sent before hand to look for whatever they're here for. When they were here, they used this safe-house base camp sort of thing up in the mountains. We know they're heading there, so all we have to do is follow them."

Sasuke smirked.

"Lead the way then, Zaku."

* * *

Back with Naruto's group, the taxi had just dropped the trio off and they had begun their trek into the mountainous wilderness of northern Japan. The fresh, natural air was a nice change of pace from the ventilated air of the FBPS underground headquarters and the stuffy air of the city. The setting was also a nice change; trees, dirt, and grass were a sight Naruto hadn't seen in quite some time.

As they ascended the steep mountainous terrain, climbing up a series of cliff-sides, he didn't neglect to take in all he could of this new and foreign environment.

"Kind of reminds me of home," commented Karen.

Naruto looked down at her from his place on the rock face.

"You know, you never _did_ tell me where exactly you lived. Where is it?" asked Naruto, taking hold of another small protruding rock.

"That, my blond friend, is a closely guarded Kitsune secret. In fact, as far as I know, your parents were the only humans ever told about our homes location."

"So why can't you tell me? I'm just as trust worthy as my parents were!" protested Naruto.

"Because knowing you, you'll have a lapse of stupid and end up blabbing it by accident. I'm not questioning your loyalty, I'm questioning your attentiveness, which you're infamous for not having a lot of."

Naruto growled back at her, and that was when Kakashi decided to intervene; before the two got into a full blown argument...again.

"Settle down you two, we're almost there. Just atop this cliff-side and though some trees about another quarter mile" he said, pulling himself up to the top of the last cliff-face.

Naruto and Karen quickly scrambled up to the new elevation as Kakashi pushed his way through some stray branches. The remainder of the walk was quiet and uneventful, the trio only stopping once when one of the branches smacked poor Naruto in the face.

The three of them came onto a small clearing, and there sat their destination. It was a simple Japanese style house, just as Kakashi had said. They walked up to the front door and slid it open to the side, stepping inside onto the hard wood floor. Naruto looked around the house as Kakashi set all their gear and supplies down. The front door led into a simple den or living room, it had a low level table, a TV, a few seating pillows around the table, and a shelf against the wall with an assortment of books.

A hallway at the other end of the room led to a kitchen on the left which was fully stocked with food, and was equipped with a stove, refrigerator, and sink. To the right was the bathroom with both a tub and shower, and at the end of the hall, two bedroom with simple futon beds.

One he'd inspected the house, Naruto rejoined Kakashi and Karen in the living room. Karen was carrying things back to their rooms and the kitchen, while Kakashi laid out a topographical map of the immediate region. Curious, Naruto took a seat at the table and looked over it; it displayed the elevations of the mountains, and cavernous structures or anything else that could possibly be used as a shelter were marked with permanent marker.

"So, where do you think Jiraiya is Kakashi?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi shook his head.

"I'm not sure. He's was an FBPS agent longer some of are current agents have even been alive, he knows all our tricks and stradegies. He'll be tough to find, but he's somewhere in this area, of that we're sure," he explained.

Naruto nodded, looking over the map.

"Well lets see...what do you know about Jiraiya, I mean like his personality and stuff. I think if we find something that he likes or is interested in, something he can't resist, then we can lure him out," suggested Naruto.

Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought.

"Hmm...you know Naruto, that may work, but what could we use to lure out one of the greatest FBPS agents to ever live?" he asked himself, still rubbing his chin.

Naruto sat there thinking as well, what could they use? Then something came to him, something Tsunade had said.

"Oh, I think I've got something! I remember Granny-Tsunade telling me before we left that Jiraiya was this super pervert or something! All we need is a really hot girl or something!"

"Yes Naruto, that may well actually work! There's one problem though."

The blond tilted his head in confusion.

"What's that?"

"Where to we find a girl to lure Jiraiya out with?"

"Hey guys, I just finished putting all our supplies away, so have either of you come up with a plan yet?" asked Karen, just now re-entering the living room.

Both Kakashi and Naruto looked at her, then Naruto looked over at Kakashi, who had a look like he was forming a crazy plan in his head. Karen arched an eyebrow at the strange look.

"What?" she asked as she took a seat the table.

Naruto then saw a nervous smile creep under his mask.

"Well Karen, we do have a plan, but it's a little iffy, and we need your help specifically to pull it off."

"Well what is it?" she asked, getting the vibe she probably wouldn't enjoy this.

Naruto meanwhile, was sitting back, praying that she didn't outright kill him when Kakashi was done explaining. He thought his plan was a good idea, but suggesting it to a girl who had the ability to break every bone in your body was not the ideal situation. Under normal circumstances, he probably would have been pissed at Kakashi for even thinking about using his best friend for such an outlandish plan, but right now, he was a bit too busy fearing for his teachers life to be mad.

"Here's the rough outline, see, it'll go like this..."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the wilderness nearby, Sasuke and Zaku had finally regrouped with the other two of Orochimaru's agents. When the raven haired demon hunter finally arrived at their destination, he was greeted by the sight of a boy who looked like he was a straight up mummy, and a girl whose waist length hair rival his own in darkness. They each wore similar clothing to Zaku, save for some minor differences.

The bandaged one spoke first.

"Sasuke Uchiha, so glad you could grace us with your presence. Dosu Kinuta, to my left is Kin Tsuchi, I see you already met Zaku," he said.

Sasuke merely brushed the comment aside and immediately began prying for information.

"How far off is their base camp, and how long ago did they arrive?" he asked.

Kin spoke up and answered his questions.

"Their base is just up those cliff-sides and about a quarter mile away after that. They've been up there for about a half an hour, forty-five minutes at the most. We haven't gone made any attempt to approach them, as per orders," she reported.

Sasuke nodded silently; these light-weights could follow orders at least.

"So what's our plan of attack?" asked Zaku eagerly.

"There won't be an attack, not yet," said Sasuke.

They all looked at him confused and wanting an explanation. The demon hunter sighed and gave it to them.

"Up there is Kakashi Hatake, on of the most powerful current FBPS agents. I doubt even I could take him in a straight up one-on-one fight, so we need to wait until Naruto and the fox bitch are separated from him before we make our move. They're bound to begin their searching tomorrow, so when they do, our target will most likely be away from Hatake. Once they are, then we move in. Until that time, we bide our time and watch," he explained.

The three looked a bit disappointed that they wouldn't be going into combat, but seemed to except his explanation. Sasuke didn't mention however, that while it was true that fighting against Kakashi would be no easy feat, what he really wanted was to have an opportunity to fight Naruto one-on-one with no interruptions. He could really care less if he got to him before he made contact with this Jiraiya person or not. If he did, well that was fine, but if he didn't, then he would just challenge the blond after the training with him was concluded. The only difference would be that he would an even more challenging opponent, and it would be even more satisfying when he emerged the victor.

He wasn't afraid of Orochimaru's reaction if he failed his mission, the fool would never do any permanent damage to him. Sasuke was an extremely valuable asset to him, and he knew it.

"For now, we should find a well concealed spot and begin out surveillance," ordered Sasuke.

They all nodded and were about to move out when and ear splitting yell pierced the air, followed by some subsequent girlly shrieks and a loud crash, startling all the birds into the air and sending a chill up even Sasuke's spine.

"What the hell was that!?" shouted Zaku as he looked up at top of the cliff.

Sasuke couldn't help but look up and wonder the same thing.

* * *

"THAT'S THE MOST DISGUSTING PLAN I'VE EVER HEARD!" shouted Karen.

Kakashi had just finished explaining his plan to Karen, and the reaction was everything Naruto had expected and more. He had expected her to blow up and start yelling, but he definetly didn't expect her to pick up Kakashi with her monstrous strength and hurtle him through the front door into the clearing. The silver haired agent was now on his back some twenty feet away, clutching his head, which he landed on. Naruto looked out the door at his fallen teacher, unaware that those high pitched squeals were even in his voice range.

His thoughts were interrupted though, when he suddenly had the feeling that someone wanted to kill him as well. He looked over to his left, scared out of his mind. Staring back at him was a very _very_ pissed Karen; her were fangs showing, her tail's fur was in all directions, and her eyes seemed to be shooting invisible death beams at him.

"Wait, wait, Karen! Using you as part of our plan was NOT my idea, that was all Kakashi!" he shouted, trying to explain. Somehow though, he got the idea that that wasn't exactly the right thing to say either, because he too could feel himself being picked up by the enraged girl.

A moment later, the blond was flying through the air, and ended up colliding with Kakashi, sending them both tumbling back further. With that, Karen slammed what was left of the front door closed, leaving the two males in a daze outside.

Naruto looked over at Kakashi.

"Well then...wanna sleep on the porch?"

**

* * *

**

FINALLY! Ah, it feels good to be back here again! I honestly didn't think I'd ever get this thing done, what with everything else going on. Anyway, since not much was really happening in this chapter, I thought why not throw in some comedy, just to keep thing from being boring. I'm not sure how well I executed it, but hey, at least I made an effort.

So, anwway, all comments are welcome. As usual though, no flames. I don't take kindly to flames, and neither does Naruto. So keep it clean or you're getting a 1000 Years of Death technique up the ass!

...ya know, unless you're into that sort of thing, in which case, I guess I'll just burn you alive or something.


	13. Chapter 13: Rivals Meet Again

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 13

**Rivals Meet Again  
**

Hello all! Sorry about the long wait...again. I've been doin' my own thing for a while and I guess I just got too caught up in it to write here. I'm taking the plunge into an original fiction story of my own that I actually intend on writing seriously. I've just been working on it a lot lately so it's taken up a lot of my time. Still, at least chapter 13's here now.

Anyway, on a semi-related note, I'd like to once again point out some more helpful constructive criticism last chapter. One reviewer in particular; Omi, who unfortunately wrote his/her review anonymously. (everybody, please avoid that if possible.) Now, first of all, I'll say that Omi was the one who gave me the most heat for chapter 11, heat I unfortunately deserved. Unlike chapter 11 though, I'm going to have to disagree with your review of chapter 12.

You make the argument that Jiraiya's excuse for not seeing Naruto was weak. Okay, I'll admit it wasn't very imaginative, but I didn't see anything wrong with it. As for Naruto being more angry about the situation; I already admitted, yes, I butchered chapter 11, but that argument doesn't carry the same weight here.

For one, Naruto was NOT alone his entire life, he had Sarutobi to care for him, and unlike the canon series, he had good friends and was well liked at school for his pranks. Also, Jiraiya bailed on Naruto in the canon series for almost the same reason as in this fic if I'm not mistaken (I might be, but hell, who knows.)

I'm not chewing you out for your opinions or anything, and I'm glad you can poke at the story without being a douche-bag like some people would be, but this is just one instance where I feel I need to disagree with you because I think I have a legit defense. Also, I AM working on the anger thing, I've been off my game lately, but I'm trying my best here, so just be patient while I get my groove back.

Anyway, I've probably kept everyone long enough, so here's Chapter 13.

* * *

With a yawn, Naruto rose and stretched in the light of the early morning sun. His back was killing him; of course, laying on the hard wood surface of an old Japanese style porch would do that. He looked over at the other end and saw Kakashi still fast asleep.

Naruto, being Naruto, wasn't one to just sit around and do nothing, so he hopped up, taking the time to bend back and crack his back a few times to try an alleviate some of the tension, then walked out into the clearing their temporary home resided in. He figured he might as well get some exercise in while he could, and began stretching before his workout sets.

After his limbs were sufficiently limber, he dropped down and began doing push ups. He quietly counted to himself under his breath, and tried to focus on his surroundings to distract himself from the work. After reaching one hundred-fifty, he did fifty more for each individual arm, then eighty or so crunches.

With his warm-ups completed, he approached a tree near the edge of the clearing and began running through his hand-to-hand drills. He landed three lighting fast jabs, then a high kick, then one final direct punch. He went on, kicking and punching and jabbing the damp bark until his muscles began to burn. Panting, he walked back over to the porch and rested, wiping away the sticky sweat that clung to his forehead.

It was then that he realized he'd been wearing the same clothes he was yesterday. Luckily Karen, in her fit of anger the previous day, had thrown almost all their belongings outside with them. He'd been frustrated then, but now he was sort of glad because he really wanted to change clothes, but definitely didn't want to risk entering the house while Karen may or may not still be mad. That was a challenge he didn't think any man could face without first exporting the contents of his bladder.

After digging out the scroll with his clothes sealed inside, he put on the orange shirt with the FBPS emblem on it that he had gotten on the first day of him being at HQ as well as some regular blue-jeans. (A/N: In case none of you remember, the FBPS emblem is the Konoha emblem they normally have on the headbands.) It may not have been the normal clothes that an FBPS agent would wear, but they didn't really have his suit ready yet, so until they got back he was stuck with street clothes which at this point would probably be better suited for the mission anyway.

Once he was properly changed, he shuffled through his scrolls again until he found the one he was looking for. With a pulse of energy, he unsealed it and out popped his mothers katana. He grabbed it by the scabbard right beneath the guard, never getting tired of seeing the precious memento from the mother he'd never had the chance of meeting. Even so, this sword was enough he supposed; it was as if his mothers spirit carried on within the blade, still protecting him and fighting along side him. As long as he had that katana, his mother was always with him.

With the razor sharp blade in hand, he returned to the middle of the clearing and unsheathed the sword, going through the stances and techniques that Kakashi had taught him. His mothers style, while seemingly simplistic, actually had quite a few impressive and flashy techniques of her own design that Naruto had been able to pick up from Kakashi, though the full extent of moves was still lost to both of them. Apparently dear Mrs. Uzumaki was not much for documenting her own techniques.

As the blond was running through his moves, he caught sight of his red headed fox demon friend, and immediately stopped. At first he wasn't sure what she wanted, but she was just standing there, so he figured she was just watching.

"Uh, hey Karen, how long have you been there?" he asked, not sure if she was still mad or not.

She shrugged.

"Not long, I just got out here actually," she replied casually.

There was a silence after that. Naruto wasn't sure what to say, or if he should even say anything at all, but figured if she wasn't going to talk, he might as well.

"You know, what happened yesterday, it wasn't my idea to include you," he said, going back to his exercises.

"Ya, I know, but the plan was yours, so I figured you still needed to be taught a lesson," she said in a joking tone, which Naruto took as the signal that she'd gotten over it.

"Kakashi though," she continued, "I'm not quite done with him yet. Freakin' pervert."

"I'm not a pervert, I just know how to appreciate a woman's body," said Kakashi suddenly, surprising the two.

"Hey, how long have you been up Kakashi, we could have used this time to go try and find Jiraiya!?" scolded Naruto.

The gray haired FBPS agent slowly sat up and scratched the back of his head tiredly as he yawned.

"Don't worry Naruto," he said, cracking his back to release some tension, "we have plenty of time, no need to rush things. I doubt Jiraiya will leave the area."

Naruto was still grumbling in impatience, but kept quiet. Karen meanwhile, was being a bit more mature about things, and decided to discuss what their plan would be rather than complaining about not moving.

"So Kakashi, how are we going to go about finding Jiraiya, because I'll tell you right now, I'm not going along with that sick plan of yours."

Kakashi put up his hands in innocence and had a nervous look on what little of his face was visible.

"Well if that's the case, then I guess we should split up to cover more ground. You two will obviously have to go with each other, seeing as you can't be separated without causing each other physical pain, so I'll just go alone."

He reached into his back left pocket, rummaged around for a second, then pulled his hand out again, holding two small hand-held devices that looked similar to a PDA. Naruto was standing with Karen on the porch at this point, and grabbed the device when Kakashi handed it to him. It was a bit smaller than his hand, had a screen that displayed a topographical map of the area like the one on the living room, a short antenna on the right side with a tiny light that was currently unlit, and a cursor right beneath the screen.

"So...what is this thing Kakashi?" asked Naruto.

"This Naruto, is an MFM, a Magic Frequency Minicomputer. See, everyone's magical energy has its own unique frequency that their body emits whether they can actually use magic or not. Every agent of the FBPS has their frequency on file, including Jiraiya, and with this, it can scan for a short distance for that very same frequency. Basically, the MFM reads the frequency of residue of magical energy emitted by the body and checks to see if it matches, if it does, the closer you get to the source, the faster that light on the antenna will blink. When it becomes solid, then you're within fifty feet of whoever is emitting the frequency, in this case, Jiraiya."

Naruto let out an impressed whistle and looked down at the small machine.

"Well this thing should definitely make things easier," commented Karen.

Kakashi then dug into a hidden pocket inside his jacket and pulled out two wireless earpiece communicators. He handed them to Karen and Naruto, as he already had one in his ear.

"If you catch his signal, call me, and I'll do the same. We'll be out for a while, so I want hourly reports whether you've found anything or not."

The two nodded in acknowledgment as they fitted the communicators into their ears.

"Well, let's head out. I'll take the east, you two head west. Remember, hourly reports and if you get a positive reading, wait for me."

Naruto quickly grabbed two weapons scroll that housed some firearms, slipped on a belt around his waist so he could wear his mothers katana instead of carrying it, and flipped on his wireless earpiece. Once he and Karen, who had a weapons scroll of her own, they headed west into the forest.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasuke had been a distance away, listening in with some sound amplification equipment. Zaku, Dosu, and Kin were spaced out around the FBPS hideout as well, and they had all heard their course of action. Not wanting to waste anytime, Sasuke recalled the three man squad back to the cliff-side about a half mile away. He sat atop a rock, sharpening his chokuto when the three finally made it back, and stood waiting for orders.

"Alright you three, this is what we'll do. Since they've split up to cover more ground, I want you three to go and trail Kakashi while I chase after Uzumaki and the fox bitch. They'll have hourly radio contact, so right after their first check in is when I'll engage them. You three don't fight Kakashi unless Uzumaki can get a call out on his radio for help. If Kakashi figures out they're in trouble, I want you to keep him busy until I can capture the two of them. Got it?"

The three nodded and Sasuke stood up from his seat, sheathing his blade. He could honestly care less what happened to the three of them, all he wanted was to fight Naruto again with no interruptions. If he'd been able to use his curse sea last time, the fight would have been over before it started, and this time, he intended to use it. No loser FBPS agent would make a fool of him twice, he'd make sure of it.

Without any further conversation, Kin, Dosu, and Zaku headed off to the Northeast, while Sasuke ran off to the Northwest.

* * *

Naruto and Karen trekked through the thick forest of the Northern mountains of Japan. It had been about ten or fifteen minutes since their departure from the house, and things were calm and quiet. Naruto kept his eyes fixed on the MFM, swinging it in different directions every now and then to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"Hey Naruto," said Karen, "do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Well you just did, but shoot anyway," he said over his shoulder with a grin.

She rolled her eyes but continued anyway.

"I was just wondering if you've gotten homesick at all? I mean, you've been away from Konoha for three months now, and your friends are probably worried about you."

Naruto thought about it for a moment. Sure, he hadn't seen home in a while, and that kinda sucked, but working for the FBPS was an exciting and unique experience that he hadn't regretted so far. As for his friends, well he missed them of course; he missed goofing off and playing pranks with Kiba, or having lunch with Sakura and Haku. He had Karen with him though, so he wasn't completely lonely, plus he'd met Chouji, Shikimaru, Lee, and Neji, so he had new friends at the FBPS to. The heart of the question however, was if he got homesick, and the truth was, yes, he was homesick.

"Well, I guess so, yeah. I mean, it would be nice to go home and see everyone again, but I've made some new friends, and I have you to, so I think I can live with it until the next time I can go back," he said, his grin never leaving his face.

"That's good, I wouldn't want you getting all mopey all of a sudden."

"Plus," continued Naruto, "I've learned some interesting facts about some of my friends families when I was looking through the FBPS database."

Karen looked at him with a curious expression.

"Like what?"

"Well, like all their families were or are involved with the FBPS. Kiba's mom apparently used to be the head of the K-9 division before she settled down and had him. Also, Haku's adoptive dad Zabuza used to be a world famous mercenary that worked with the FBPS a few times in the past. Plus, Hinata's family has had a long line of FBPS operatives. Her dad used to be pretty high up on the chain, and a lot of her uncles, aunts, and cousins are either working for or have worked for the FBPS as a special defense force. I think Sakura's family is the only one that's completely normal."

"Huh, who'd have thought," said Karen, "Seems like all of you were born for this FBPS thing, I mean think about it. Your mom and dad were the two most bad-ass member of the FBPS ever, Kiba's mom was the head of the K-9 division, Haku's dad was a famous mercenary, and Hinata's family is practically its own army."

Naruto had a thoughtful look on his face after she said that, then laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" asked Karen.

"I was just thinking that if we follow that logic, then I guess that means we were born to be friends then. The way I see it, my parents and your mom worked together to make the world safer for humans and the kitsune, so it only makes sense that we do the same thing. You and me working together to make things better for everyone, whether their human or not."

Karen smiled, mostly just because that was a unique ability Naruto had. He seemed to be able to make anyone smile, no matter how hardhearted they seemed. She could remember back when she first met him and how annoying she thought he was. Well, she still thought he was annoying sometimes, but she'd learned to appreciate his goofiness as his way of keeping everyone in a good mood. She shuttered to think about where she'd be right now if they hadn't met each other...probably dead.

"Well, you'd go on with it even if I said no, so I guess I'll _have_ to stick around and make sure you don't do anything stupid and suicidal," she said sarcastically.

They both got a kick out of it and laughed; both of them determined to watch each others backs.

* * *

It had been roughly fifty-five minutes since the duo had left their camp now, and they still hadn't found a thing. Naruto was already getting impatient, but Karen -to her credit- was keeping her cool, at least on the outside. Naruto just wanted to squeeze the thing until it broke, but he knew that wouldn't do any good, so he just kept walking, praying that they would come across something soon.

"Man, well its been about an hour, might as well check in with Kakashi, see if he's found anything," Naruto said to himself.

He reached up to his right ear where the communication was and pressed in the button that allowed him to talk on Kakashi's channel.

"Kakashi, you there?"

He waited for a moment before Kakashi's voice crackled to life on the other end.

_"I'm here Naruto, anything?"_

Naruto sighed.

"Nope, nothing so far," he reported.

There was another silence on the line before Kakashi spoke up again.

_"In that case, head north for another two hours, after that, start walking east towards me, I'll be heading west by then. We should meet up again and then we'll head back to the camp and try again tomorrow if we haven't found anything."_

"Alright, got it, talk to you soon."

With that, Naruto removed his hand from the communicator and turned to Karen.

"You got all that right?"

She didn't respond, in fact, she wasn't even looking in his direction. He raised a confused eyebrow and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumped a little, and looked back at him.

"What's wrong, you just spaced out?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"It's just...I could have sworn I smelled someone here."

Naruto looked down at the MFM; nothing. Naruto knew better than to just disregard Karen when she said she smelled something, her sense of smell was extremely acute, and she could pick out individual scents in the middle of dozens. Apparently Jiraiya was good at hiding his scent to because she couldn't pick anything up, but whoever she was smelling now definitely wasn't Jiraiya. For one, the MFM would have picked it up.

The blond was suddenly getting a very bad feeling about this, and his right hand moved to the katana strapped to his belt. He closed his eyes, using a focusing technique that Kakashi had taught him. He blocked out all distractions, all sights, sounds, smells, every sensation that cluttered the senses. He stood completely still, not wanting to miss any minute detail that could mean the difference between a surprise attack and an effective defense.

For a few seconds, there was nothing except the occasional breeze. He began to think that it might have just been a coincidence, but then he heard something, a rustle of the leaves from behind him. It would have been nothing, but he couldn't feel the slightest breeze coming from any direction.

In an instant his eyes shot open, he knew what was happening now. His katana was out in a second, and he twisted around like a tornado, deflecting the enemy blade that would have otherwise impaled the back of his head. The blond rolled back after the deflection to gain some distance, then slid onto his feet and quickly slipped into his defensive stance.

Roughly fifteen feet away stood the bane of his recent life, Sasuke Uchiha. The raven haired demon hunter was on his feet as well, and was wielding a blade of his own, though his was straight while Naruto's had a smooth curve. The two teens stared each other down, crystal blue eyes meeting onyx black ones.

"Karen, call Kakashi for help, I'll keep him busy," Naruto whispered.

She nodded and moved her hand to her ear.

Sasuke didn't miss the movement, and quickly activated his Sharingan nanites, increasing his speed, reaction time, and eyesight. Everything moved in slow motion as his legs propelled him like an wild animal right past Naruto's vain attempts to stop him. In a swift motion, he ducked under Naruto's katana, jumped into the air, and delivered a devastating drop-kick to Karen's chest, sending her flying back through the truck of a tree.

Sasuke slid to a stop after his attack and jumped back to his feet. He didn't have time to guard himself though, and Naruto took his momentary weakness as a chance to deal a direct and painful blow with the hilt of his katana to Sasuke's face, causing him to stumble and fall backward, a slight amount of blood flying out of his mouth.

He was back on his feet again in an instant, wiping the blood from his lips and chin.

"Heh, you've gotten better. Last time we fought your normal attacks didn't hurt nearly that much. I'm expecting a lot from this fight Naruto, don't disappoint me."

Naruto snarled, his katana's tip pointing towards his opponent.

"Don't worry, I aim to please. Bring it on ya bastard!"

**

* * *

There we go, chapter 13 done!**

**Before I go though, I have a question. Does anyone here happen to read the Twilight series? I don't personally, I'm just asking because I've been hearing some stuff lately that have been having me look over my shoulder every time a girl with a book in her hand walks by. Seriously, I've been hearing some scary ass stories; assault, harassment, death threats, ATTEMPTED DROWNING, all because of a book. One that, in my opinion, doesn't even seem all that great in the first place. **

**Some of the stories I call bullshit on, but there are others with some pretty hard evidence, so I'm inclined to believe that there are psycho fan-girls out there who really want to kill me.  
**

**I will state though, that there are NO vegetarian vampires ladies, and if a guys skin sparkles in the sun, he ain't a vampire, he's a fairy. (and yes, I meant that as a double entendre.)**

**Review please...unless you're just going to get all over my back about how I just bashed Twilight, cuz I don't wanna hear it Twitards!  
**


	14. Chapter 14: The Clash

**Caught in the Middle**

Chapter 14

The Clash

Hey everybody! I haven't updated in...nearly a month? OH, SHIT! Jeez, you guys must be pissed, huh? Sorry guys, I've had a lot going on this month so far, so it's been really hard for me to find time to write for any of my stories. I've got a practice ACT coming up, I'm preparing for a robotics competition, I've got a writing workshop in about a week, not to mention Chemistry class has been kicking my ass all up and down school lately. Not to mention my birthday was about a week and a half ago. (I'm 17 now, woo!)

Anywho, I've been writing a little bit over all this time, so I'm not completely out of my game. I'm usually pretty good with fight scenes, so I'm hoping this chapter will live up to your expectation...key word being "hoping". I tried to incorporate some actual strategy into this one, and I'm not a very good strategist, so we'll see how all this plays out.

* * *

Sasuke didn't waste any time starting the fight up. He charged straight at Naruto with a speed that the blond didn't expect. He had vague memories of the last time they had fought, but one thing he remembered was that while Sasuke was very fast, he never used to be _that_ fast. Never-the-less, he kept his eyes on Sasuke, and focused on his footwork.

At first it seemed to be a frontal assault, but Naruto caught the way the demon hunter's feet leaned at the last second as he twirled to the side and attempted a horizontal slash. Naruto brought his katana over to his left side and blocked the blade without giving any ground. He was glad he had caught that when he did; if he had taken the bait and attempted to block what he thought was a straight up attack, his side would have been open and he would have been done for already.

With a strong heave, Naruto pushed Sasuke away from him a few feet before slipping back into his defensive stance. He had to absorb the way Sasuke fought before he could make his offensive move, he needed to follow his mother's style and try to either find the weak point in Sasuke's defense –every style had at least one-, or he had to find a way to disarm him.

At the current point in time, it didn't seem likely he'd be able to disarm him, so he stuck to watching and waiting. He stood steady as Sasuke came at him again. He made sure to watch the way he held his sword, the way he moved, even his eye movement; he had to find something to manipulate.

Sasuke once again attempted to deceive Naruto by waiting until the last minute to twirl to the side -this time to the right- and get past his guard. Naruto was, again, ready for the tactic and brought his katana to his right to block. Before the strike came though, Sasuke suddenly jumped into the air, back-flipping over Naruto's had, and landing to the left of the blond.

Naruto had already shifted his weight and his blade to the right, and at the speed Sasuke whipped around, he could never hope to move all the way over in time. Deciding against trying to block the attack, Naruto pushed his weight to the right further and rolled under to horizontal attack and away from his opponent.

As Naruto regained his footing, Sasuke had already caught up with him. His eyes widened as his straight sword thrust forward, and out of reflex, threw his own sword up and barely diverted Sasuke's away enough to escape with a small scratch on his cheek. His minor victory was interrupted though, as the blond felt a blunt thud against his stomach, and he was launched backward.

Naruto rolled to the side and picked himself up as Sasuke lowered his right leg, suggesting that he had kicked him. He shook the slight disorientation away and slipped back into his defensive stance once again. He may have been off to a shaky start, but he what he did have was a possible strategy now.

Two out of the three attacks that Sasuke has made involved him attempting to goad Naruto into defending from the wrong angle, and then twisting to one side or the other and attacking with a swift horizontal slash. The only problem with that was that there was a very brief but none the less advantageous period where Sasuke has his back turned to him, and wouldn't be able to counter.

All Naruto had to do was watch his footwork as usual, and figure out which side he would divert to, then catch him at the right moment. It was a risky move that could end up backfiring on him, but it could also reap the largest benefits.

He smirked slightly when he saw Sasuke running straight towards him like he'd hoped. He kept a sharp eye on how his feet were moving, waiting for even the smallest change in direction. Just as usual, he leaned his feet to the left again, and Naruto's eyes snapped up now to watch his upper body and to wait for the split second he would have his back turned.

The moment he saw it, he abandon his defensive stance and leaned in Sasuke's direction, intending to stab him through the back. He almost exploded in curses when he realized his timing had been off, and the best he'd done was rip through the demon hunters clothes and land a glancing blow.

His stomach lurched when the realization hit him that he was completely open for attack now. In a wild and impulsive move, he twisted around, practically falling backwards in the process, and sliced his katana through the air to try and block the attack he knew was coming. He was lucky enough to impact Sasuke's sword, but because of his poor grip on the hilt, it flew out of his hand.

Naruto hit the ground with has back once more, and rolled back to stand. Sasuke was about seven to ten feet away now, and he to was without his sword- the blade lay strewn on the ground a distance away. Naruto's katana was no where in his field of view, but he wasn't going to chance a glance in any other direction for fear of being caught off guard.

"Not bad so far Naruto. Of course, the only reason we've been relatively equal so far is because, like you, I'm not quite accustomed to handling a blade yet. Three months can only do some much after all."

Naruto kept a look of frustrated determination on his face.

"Well how about we try something else then," responded the blond, "since you're oh so confident, let's go hand-to-hand. A good ol' fashion beat-down."

"Hn, fine then, if you're that eager to be beaten to a pulp."

With that, the two ran straight at each other with speed far greater than they had been using. As the two converged, Sasuke jumped up slightly and sent a roundhouse kick aimed at Naruto's face. The blond ducked, allowing Sasuke to land behind him. Naruto quickly spun around as well though, and was able to catch a punch with his left hand. Sasuke wasted no time in grabbing that same arm with his free hand, and with all his might and a loud roar, shifted his weight around and actually threw Naruto across the dirt ground.

He slid to a stop after a few seconds and was halfway up when he was face was kindly introduced to Sasuke's knee. The blond was forced back even further, blood now slowly dribbling down from his nostrils. Before he could even think about getting up again, Sasuke grabbed him by the collar of his shirt with his left hand, and lifted him up so he could more easily slam his free fist into Naruto's face.

He kept the steady rhythm of blows for a few seconds before lifting him up the rest of the way and tossing him a few feet distance again. Naruto was able to regain enough balance to finally stand back up again and quickly wiped away the blood dripping down from his mouth and nose.

He barely had any time in between before Sasuke threw another punch his way which he was able to block with his arm. This only opened him up for a second attack however, and no sooner did he retract his fist did Sasuke's foot slam into Naruto's right upper jaw. The high blow sent him hurtling across the ground and into a tree, sending a blunt pain up through his back.

He slowly rose up from his knees and re-entered his fighting stance. Sasuke was standing casually some distance away, actually laughing.

"You really don't give up do you. Well I guess I'm okay with that; after all, what fun would it be if you just knelt down and surrendered. Seriously though, it wouldn't matter if there were five of you- when it comes to hand-to-hand, you're just plain outmatched."

Naruto's expression changed to a devious smirk.

"Well, it just so happens...that I've got a trick up my sleeve that'll put that little theory to the test."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in curiosity as Naruto picked himself up further and raised his two hands together. His index and middle fingers were the only ones not clenched down, and he put them together to form an a sort of 'plus sign', with this fingers.

"I've been waiting to use this: **Kage Bunshin!**" Naruto cried.

Instantly, four plumes of smoke surrounded him, and faded fast to reveal four more Naruto's standing around the original. They all wore the same confident and oddly disturbing grin.

"So Bastard," they all said at once, "you really think you can take five of me?"

Sasuke merely scoffed.

"Please, all that is is a bunch of smoke and some illusions; congratulations, you're officially an third rate magician. Of all the spells you could have used, you decided to use those crappy illusions? What exactly do you expect to accomplish with a bunch of cheap intangible copies?"

Naruto's smirk still never faltered.

"We'll see, bring it one Sas-gay!" they all shouted.

The raven haired demon hunter growled at the childish name-calling, and rashly charged toward Naruto. In turn, the Naruto's ran forward as well.

Sasuke was eying the original Naruto. He'd seen the smoke plumes, and knew that the one in the center, behind the two in the lead, was the real one. They were only illusions, so as long as he didn't take his eyes off of the real Naruto, there wasn't any way for him to pull out any surprises.

...oh how wrong he was.

As Sasuke attempted to charge through the first two "illusions", they both pulled back their fists, and launched them forward, nailing the Sharingan user on either side of his face. He flew backwards onto his side.

The two rear Naruto's on either side of the original jumped over the two in front and landed right over Sasuke. They grabbed ahold of both his arms as they lifted him up, and held him on place. The two frontal Naruto copies transformed into a pair of combat knives.

As he closed in, Sasuke pushed up with his feet, using the two Naruto's that had grabbed a hold of him for balance, and fired both his feet forward into the original Naruto's chest. While the original was flying back, Sasuke and the two copies that were holding him were now falling backwards thanks to him pushing back so hard.

Once they were on their backs, Sasuke landed a blow on the left one with his elbow, then leaned over and punched the other one with his now free hand, liberating his other arm. The demon hunter quickly reached of his belt and flipped open a storage scroll. Unsealing it, two Glock 18c handguns poofed into life, and his grasped them eagerly.

He twisted around, and pumped each of the clones that hid previously captured him with three rounds each. Once they were out of commission, he returned his attention back to the original, who he now couldn't locate. At that moment however, a low whistle rang out through the air and Sasuke ducked as a combat knife flew right over his head, embedding itself in a nearby tree before poofing out of existence.

He looked up and finally found Naruto, who was now jumping off a tree that had been behind the demon hunter. He still had one knife in his hand and just as Sasuke pulled the trigger on his pistols, the blond had landed on him, and sent both bursts off in different directions.

Naruto thrust the knife downward, and so Sasuke dropped his handguns in order to grab ahold of the blonds arm, keeping the small blade away from his chest area. Once he had forced his arms back a decent distance, he released the grip of one of his arms and shot his first up in an uppercut that slammed into Naruto's chin. The knife left his grip and -just as the other one had- disappeared in a ploom of smoke.

Now with both boys a short distance away, both panting -though Naruto more noticeably that Sasuke- they were back at square one.

Sasuke smirked as he leaned over a little.

"The last three months have...really done you good...Naruto. You're not..._completely_ helpless and...pathetic like you were," he said between breaths.

"Heh, oh yea...and who was the one...that won our last match...I forget?" Naruto responded sarcastically.

Again, Sasuke scoffed.

"Yeah well...I wasn't using my...full strength then. I...won't make the same mistake...again."

"Huh?"

Sasuke's smirk grew as he finally started taking things seriously and activated his curse seal. He steadily began to emit a darker and darker aura around him. The swirling dark magical energy began to surround him completely as the black marks of the curse seal slowly crept their way across his skin. He felt the renewed strength and power that came with its activation, and felt even better than before the fight began.

Naruto simply watching in a mixture of confusion and apprehension as he felt the atmosphere get heavier around him. Suddenly, the energy died down, and Sasuke was visible again, unlike only a moment ago when he was merely a silhouette behind a dark veil. His skin was covered in black markings that resembled tattoos, but Naruto knew enough about what just happened to know that whatever they were, they obviously weren't very good for his health.

"Ah...that's better," said Sasuke, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Wh-what is..." Naruto attempted to ask, but his sentence was cut short when Sasuke suddenly flickered out of sight, only to reappear a moment later directly in front of him.

"Peekaboo."

Naruto's eyes widened as what felt like a dozen cinder-blocks hit his gut. A steady mix of blood and saliva flew out of his mouth as he flew right threw a tree trucked and tumbled back at least two dozen feet before hitting another tree and coming to a painful stop. The blond cradled his stomach, which felt like it had imploded, and was coughing up spatter of blood as he laid helpless on the ground.

He laid there for what seemed like hours before opening his eyes and saw Sasuke, still with a faint purplish-black glow about him as he casually walked up to him, his straight sword back in his hand.

Naruto tried to get back up, to fight, but he couldn't find the strength. His arms were practically glued to his stomach, and his eyes were fading in and out of focus; he couldn't have stood to save his life. (A/N: Pun totally intended.)

"Well, it was fun while it lasted Naruto, but it's over now. You might think of me as a jerk for killing you, but look at it this way; if you knew what was in store for you if I brought you back to Orochimaru...well let's just say you'd be thanking me. I may not like you, but nobody deserves to be dropped alone in the same room as that guy."

He raised his blade, preparing to slice down at him.

"See ya."

Naruto clenched his teeth, this wasn't how he wanted to go. Just as Sasuke's blade began its downward motion however, he was forcibly turned around, and a solid blow was landed on his cheek which sent tumbling away and out of Naruto's sight. The blond weakly looked up, and saw his best friend and crimson haired fox demon.

"K-karen?"

She knelt down in front of him, running a hand through his hair and the other grasping his arm.

"Hey Naruto, no offense or anything, but you look like shit."

Despite the pain in his stomach, he still found a way to laugh.

"Thanks for noticing," he croaked out.

"I'll get us out of here; I already called Kakashi, so he should be here soon. Until then, we need to get as much distance between us and pigeon-head over there."

His hopes were actually raised a bit, until he saw a familiar flicker behind Karen, and no sooner did he open his mouth did Sasuke re-appear, looking mighty pissed. He raised his blade again as Karen looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening in surprise and fear.

"You demon BITCH!" he roared.

They both thought he was going to attack and that would be the end of them both, but his attack never came. The duo looked up, and behind Sasuke stood a large man with gray hair that fell into a long pony-tail. He wore what looked like old Japanese robes, a mix of dark green and red.

With a simple pull, he whipped Sasuke around, who lost his grip on his sword, and pinned him to a tree with only his left hand, despite his struggling. With his right hand, he formed a small spinning blue orb around the size of two baseballs.

**"Rasengan!" **shouted the man as he slammed the orb into Sasuke's stomach.

The next thing they saw was a huge ploom of dust, dirt, and debris fill the air. The airborne filth invaded the lungs of the two on the ground and they coughed uncontrollably until it finally settled. After that, Sasuke was no where to be seen; there was no trace left of him at all.

They looked up at the giant man who had just saved him. He had his right hand over his forehead to block out the sun from his view while whistling.

"Well, I think that just might have been a distance record!" he said with a laugh.

Once he was done admiring his handiwork, he looked down at Naruto and Karen, who were staring right back at him. Naruto could feel it getting harder to keep his eyes open, which he knew probably meant he was slipping into unconsciousness.

The man leaned forward and looked closer at him.

"You okay kid?"

Karen looked concerned as well.

"Naruto?"

That was the last thing that echoed through his head before he slipped into the black void of his own mind.

**

* * *

An unkown number of meters away**

Sasuke coughed violently as he laid on his back, his entire body aching. He rolled onto his side, and clumsily stumbled over to a tree. He grasped the bark and pulled himself up, though he had to rely on it for balance. His head was spinning after he was sent flying, and the act of standing up didn't sit well with his stomach. He leaned over and vacated his stomach over the ground, cursing the world out as the last bits of upchucked liquid dripped out of his mouth.

He shakily reached for his radio and pressed in the button to talk.

"K-Kin...Dosu...Za-Zaku, do you re-...do you read?"

He waited for a few seconds before their Kins voice crackled through the radio.

"I'm here sir!" she shouted, which only further agitated Sasuke's now pounding head.

"Kin...we're pulling back...regroup back at the cli-...cliff side," he coughed out.

"Fine with us sir, Kakashi's been alerted of you position so we tried taking him on as per orders. That idiot Zaku is already down, and Dosu isn't faring well right now either. I'll inform them we're pulling back."

With that, Sasuke merely threw the radio away. He began stumbling between the trees, trying his best not to fall down. All the while, he cursed out Naruto, the demon bitch, and the old man who had interrupted his fight.

* * *

**Ah, it's nice to be back. Well, you guys know the drill by now, just leave a review before leave and you shall have appeased me. I hope I did alright and didn't screw the pooch anywhere, because then I'd be pissed at myself.**

**Now before anyone asks me this question in a review or a PM or whatever, let me get this out of the way. Yes, I intentionally made Sasuke way stronger than Naruto. I know, it pained me to, but it only makes sense. Naruto only has about three months of training; even given the fact that he's pretty much a natural, Sasuke's been doing this sort of thing way WAY longer than he has, so he's obviously going to be stronger.**

**Of course, that's why we have Jiraiya. RASENGAN FTW!  
**

**The review button is right down there, so let the compliments/complaints/whining sessions/flames fly!  
**


	15. Chapter 15: The Godfather

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 15

**The Godfather**

Hey guys! First off, I'm sorry but I really just couldn't resist the opportunity to use that title chapter. Anyway, I'll be heading off to the National Robotics Competition tomorrow, so I get to miss school on Friday! I'll get a first hand look at the machines that will undoubtedly be our metallic overlords decades from now.

Moving back to the fanfic, Naruto's training begins this chapter, and for a few more chapters after this. Ya know, the whole mastering the Rasengan thing, plus a few details that will be important later on, and some much needed (and frequently demanded) fluff. Yes, to all of you who are sending me messages asking when Naruto and Karen will get together, the answer is SOON. There's a lot that's going to happen soon, so things will get pretty interesting.

I don't want to just throw my two main characters into a relationship for absolutely no reason with no build up, (coughTwilightcough), I'm trying to be realistic and dramatic here.

Anyway, just go ahead and read.

* * *

Naruto emerged from the blackness of his unconscious state in a blurred stupor. He moved his right hand up to his forehead, trying in vain to clear the fog in his mind and alleviate at least some of the throbbing. He groaned and attempted to sit up, but his abdomen immediately protested and he plopped right back down onto his back. He sucked in air through clenched teeth and tried to bite back the pain as it ran up and down his torso.

"Naruto, are you awake?" said a voice above him.

He peaked out through squinted eyes and made out a blurred red mass that he eventually made out to be Karen's hair. As his eyes came back into focus he saw her hovering over him with anxiousness all over her face. He managed a small smile.

"Yeah...a little achy, but I'll live," he replied weakly, his lung feeling like they could barely hold onto any air.

She smiled back and ran a hand through his blond hair. "You've been out for almost a day now, you scared me to death."

"Sorry, looks like Sasuke's still better than me. I'm getting closer though, the gap is getting smaller, I can feel it."

His eyes roamed around their surroundings, and he took in their environment for the first time since waking up. From the looks of things, they were in a cave or cavern of some sort. He looked up at the roof of the rocky shelter, and nothing but mountainous stone started back at him. The ground was uncomfortably hard, but the thin mattress he had been provided with had made it more bearable, and at this point he was just glad to be okay, so he wasn't about to complain.

"You're awake, good, I was afraid you had gone catatonic on us," said a much calmer voice a bit farther off where Naruto could not see, but judging by the lackadaisical tone, he guessed it was Kakashi. His footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the cavern until he came to a stop, standing directly over the blond, reading his usual "romance novel".

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"A bit; what took you so long to help us?" he asked back.

"I was drawn into my own fight and it was a long distance to cover without battling three opponents at once, not to mention I wasn't appraised of your situation until well into your battle with Sasuke. I assumed if we were being attacked here, then Sasuke was probably, if not behind it, then at least involved, but those three were decently strong together. I would have gotten there sooner if I could have."

Naruto nodded, still generally bitter over having lost to Sasuke. Thinking over the battle though, jogged his memory of what had happened right before he blacked out.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Just before Sasuke was going to finish me off, this really big guy showed up and used this...blue...orb thing, and completely blew him away in one shot. It was incredible; I think it might have been Jiraiya."

"The one and only kid," said a third voice.

Naruto shifted his head as far to the left as he could manage, and saw the same man as when he was downed by Sasuke. He had long grayish-silver hair that fell down his back, and parted to two sides thanks to a metal headband with a Japanese kanji symbol marked on it, which -if Naruto's linguistics course was serving him well- meant "oil". He had a long red vest over greenish-gray ancient Japanese looking robes, and fishnet clothing underneath that. He also had a large scroll which hung around his waist.

"So you're Jiraiya?"

"That's what I just said kid, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, at your service."

Naruto blinked and for a few seconds silence fell over the four of them. "So I guess this makes you my godfather then."

Jiraiya turned his head and didn't look directly at him as he replied, "It does. I could tell you were Minato's brat from a mile off; the blond hair was a dead give away."

Naruto chuckled against the argument of his lungs. "Yeah, people are always saying I look just like him."

Kakashi slapped his book shut and stowed it away in his suit. "Well, I'll let you two get a little better acquainted. Karen, come with me."

The redhead nodded and gave Naruto a last glance as she rose to her feet and followed the silver haired FBPS agent off. After the two had gotten a distance off, while still remaining within the roughly one-hundred foot radius Karen was forced to stay in until they were un-bonded, he turned his head back to Jiraiya.

The elder spoke first.

"So I guess you're probably wondering where I've been all your life," he said taking a seat next to Naruto's laid out form.

"Kakashi already explained the gist of it to me. I can understand you missing my dad, it sounded like you were really close, and I still had a pretty good life even without you being there. Its been over a decade since he died though, why are you still living like a hermit? I really would have liked to have gotten to know you sooner, to at least have known you were there."

He sighed. "I know I missed a lot, I was being selfish, I know that. If it had been one year, or two, even three or four this probably wouldn't be such an issue, but sixteen years gone without a trace without even so much as a hello is inexcusable. I want to give you an explanation, but the truth is I don't have one. I had always planned on coming back, planned on meeting you and telling you stories and helping to raise you into the great man I knew you'd be, but I never did, and the years just kept slipping by one by one until this day finally rolled around and I came face to face with the person I had continuously ignored."

Another silence fell, and for a moment neither knew what to say. It remained a stale and tense quiet until Naruto shattered it with a question he had always wanted a straight answer to, but never got.

"So...which one of my parents named me after a ramen topping?" he asked suddenly. Jiraiya looked bewildered at first, but then chuckled.

"Well you're mother actually gave you that name, but it wasn't her intention to name you after a ramen topping. Your name is supposed to mean 'maelstrom', of course that never stopped Minato from joking about it. You look like an exact clone of him to, but from what I can tell, you act more like Kushina than anyone else. I can only assume you were famous for practical jokes at your school?"

The blond laughed as much as his tired lungs allowed. "Heh, well I have been known to pull a few pranks on occasion."

"Had you two been able to collaborate...well I'm not sure what the world would have done," sighed Jiraiya, a smirk reaching his lips.

"Anyway," he said after a moment, "I know I can't really excuse never being there for you, but I'd like to try and make it up to you. Kakashi explained everything to me; the girl, your situation, the Uchiha. I'll give you any help you need; I'll break the bond, train you, anything."

"Getting rid of my link with Karen is mainly why we're here anyway, and after that fight with Sasuke, I'll definitely need the training. Plus, you can tell me about my parents. I still don't know much more about them than the records displayed back at HQ, and that's just statistics and official records."

Jiraiya smiled and put his hand on Naruto's head, ruffling the blond bush. "Sure thing kid."

* * *

**Hotel Room,** **Sapporo**

Sasuke to was bedridden as well, though unlike Naruto, he was furious. So close, he had been so close and just like that his victory had been snatched away from him. Not only that, but now his self proclaimed rival was with a man even Orochimaru was wary of. This wasn't so much of a concern as it was a nuisance. On the one hand, he could care less if Naruto got stronger, it would just be more fun when he crushed him again, but Orochimaru would be on his back for this.

His team was in less than ideal condition as well. Zaku was also still down; he had taken quite the beating from Kakashi. Dosu had taken light injuries, and Kin was the only member so far that was completely combat ready.

The raven haired demon hunter cursed his vulnerable state. He could be out training as well, but his exhaustion and injuries wouldn't allow him to sit up, let alone practice his martial arts or his magic. All he could do was rest and heal.

Still, even he couldn't deny that fighting with Naruto was becoming increasingly entertaining each time. He almost found himself looking forward to -dare he say excited- for the day when he could fight the blond again. The thought of his curse seal against Naruto's demonic abilities would be and excellent test of his strength, and bring him one step closer to the level of strength he needed.

Until that time though, he gave a low growl and laid in his bed.

**

* * *

**** Two hours later****, Northern Japanese Mountains**

After Jiraiya and Naruto became relatively acquainted, Kakashi and Karen rejoined them and began discussing the first order of business, un-bonding Naruto and Karen. Surprisingly, Jiraiya was quick to come up with a solution. He now sat in front of both Naruto and Karen, the boys chest bare.

"Now," began the sage, "this will be an easy process despite what you think. The kind of bond between you two is surprisingly weak with the right seal to cancel it out. This little number is something I developed a while back when I had to deal with a similar situation, but that's a story for another day. I won't go into the complicated details, but the short and simple version is that as long as these seals are maintained, which isn't too hard, the bond holding you two together should dissipate within a few days, and the marks can be removed."

They both nodded, and Jiraiya leaned over and began running through hand signs. Naruto watched as he burned through them at blinding speed, and still seemed to be going on forever. After what seemed like a short eternity, Jiraiya ended his frenzy of finger movement and his index and middle finger connected with Naruto's stomach. A moment later, a black seal appeared on his stomach.

It was a small circle encircling his navel, then expanded out as eight straight lines extended in different directions, then connected with a larger circle, then that circling being surrounded by a diamond shaped mark. The seal had been applied, but Naruto was could still feel that little piece of Karen still in the back of his mind.

"There we go, now for the next step."

"What's the next step?" asked Karen.

"I'm going to have to apply the same seal to you, so that neither of you are sending off any magical energies to one another. If you'll kindly lift your shirt up a bit, we can get this done with."

Naruto looked up at his godfather.

"This isn't just a perverted ploy of yours right? Granny Tsunade warned me you were a pretty big pervert, and I don't take kindly to perverts, especially perverts eying my best friend," warned Naruto, his voice still carrying confidence despite his weakened state.

Jiraiya put up his hands defensively. "This is really how it goes, I swear, no need to accuse me of anything."

The blond gave a nod, but still watched his movements carefully. He once again watched in amazement as Jiraiya sped through the hand signs for the seal, only this time it seemed like he was done in mere seconds. Naruto watched all the same as an identical black mark appeared on Karen's stomach as well.

This time he could feel her presence leave his mind suddenly. He had to admit, after having that little piece of her in his head for so long, he now felt oddly...lonely, almost like he had just lost a little bit of his identity. He could tell Karen felt the same just by the look on her face.

"That's that, the link should be gone and you're both free to move about how you like. After a few days I can take off the seals and the link should be gone permanently, but don't mess with them for at least a week," advised Jiraiya.

They both nodded a bit lazily, having other things on their minds at the moment. Naruto finally released a yawn, and Kakashi finally spoke up.

"Well, I think it's time Naruto got some rest, he's exhausted as it is."

Jiraiya nodded. "Agreed, get some rest kid, you're in no condition to do anything yet anyway."

"Yeah," the blond agreed, "I guess you're right, some sleep'll do me some good."

The trio headed out of the cavern and out onto the large cliff side the cavern formed next to. They were decently high up in the mountains, remote enough not to be found, but not so high that it was impossible to get down. They had a magnificent view of the other mountains and the large forests below.

"Well, I'm gonna take one last look around; make sure we haven't been tailed or anything. You two just stay here, I'll be back in a jiff," said Jiraiya.

The sage quickly flickered out of their field of vision and was off, leaving Karen and Kakashi alone in the mountains with a sleeping Naruto within the caverns behind them. Kakashi leaned against the rocky wall and popped out his book, while Karen took a seat on the ground. She was currently running a few thoughts through her head, including a request she had of the FBPS agent in front of her.

She worked up her courage, cleared her throat, and stood back up.

"Kakashi?" she asked, "could I ask something of you?"

He shifted his head in her direction slightly, indicating he was listening.

"Well, I don't want to be a burden on Naruto, and lately that's what I feel like I've been, so I want to get stronger. I don't want to interfere with Naruto's training with Jiraiya either, so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind training me while Naruto's working with Jiraiya."

He was silent for a moment, but then replied; "I don't see why not. In fact, I've got a special technique I created myself that would work pretty well for you. No normal human could use it properly, but with your enhanced senses you should be able to handle it. We'll have to work our way up to it, but you should be able to use it with practice. I would teach it to Naruto, but somehow I don't think he's got the right elemental affinity for it."

Karen smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Kakashi, I promise I'll work hard."

Kakashi eye-smiled at her. "Oh I'm not worried about that, I know you will, because since I know kitsune have such great natural endurance, I can make you're training regiment even more intense than Naruto's"

Her face instantly paled; she remembered how tired Naruto was after training sessions, and the thought of them being even more difficult drained all the blood from her face.

She instantly began regretting what she had just gotten herself into.

**

* * *

Okay, chapter 15 done. I just wanted to finish this before I head off to the competition that way I won't have to worry about updating while I'm bashing metal against metal during the robo-sumo battle. (Yes, robot sumo. awesome.)** **Anyway, wish me luck, because my partner is...well, not too bright, (he's the programmer, I'm the engineer), so God knows I'll need it.**

**See you next chapter, and don't forget to review.  
**


	16. Chapter 16: Rasengan and Chidori Part 1

**Caught in the Middle**

Chapter 16

Rasengan and Chidori

**Part 1**

Holy shit, two updates in one month, what is this blasphemy!? Hey guys, I had huge urge to write after getting home from the robotics competition on Saturday, so I started up on this little number and I've been picking at it little by little since. I meant to start working on the second chapter of Guardian Angel III: Neo Arcus Angelus (Bleach), but I didn't want my sudden muse to slip away while I still had it.

Anyway, this chapter is finally introducing the Rasengan in its (almost) entirety, and as you can tell from the title above, Karen's learning a nifty new trick as well. That's right, Sasuke isn't gettin' the Chidori in this story! (Lol, rhyming) Emo McAngstypants doesn't deserve that cool of an attack; instead Karen will be the next wielder of the Chidori, and maybe even the Raikiri later on. (speaking of Karen, all you fluff addicts should be antiquity satisfied early on, so you can stop PM-ing me about it.)

Oh, and for anyone who wanted to know how I did at the robo-sumo thing, I got my ass kicked...badly. Of all the bots I had to go up against, I had to get matched up with the one that had a max speed of 40 MPH. The damn thing hit my bot so hard the battery was blown out of place and cracked open. I couldn't continue competing after that, I didn't have a valid alternative power source. Still, it was fun, and me and my room mates had fun trashing the hotel. (The maids got their revenge though, a pair of my friend Aaron's pants went suspiciously missing.)

Enough of my whining though, I'll let you guys read.

* * *

A week in a half had passed since Naruto awoke in Jiraiya's cavern, and he was finally ready to get to training. His muscles still ached around his stomach, and his back was stiff from the hard ground, but these were both things he could ignore for a few hours at least. It was early in the morning, though he wasn't sure of the exact time –he didn't have his watch, but the sun was just peaking over the horizon- when he finally got his first breath of fresh in a good while.

The blond took a seat near the cliff-side and took in the mountainous view; the rising golden disk that was the sun creeping upward into the sky above the mountains, the lush green trees swaying in unison in the morning breeze, making it seem as if he sat above a vast sea. It made him almost not want to go back to the FBPS, but he quickly dismissed that thought. He couldn't and wouldn't abandon his duty, no matter how impressive the view.

For a while, he entertained himself by picking up random pebbles and other small rocks, and tossing them as far as he could off the cliff. A few minutes later, he was out of rocks that were in reach, and instead took to simply sitting still for a bit and admiring as much of the sunrise as possible before Jiraiya woke up to start training.

His ears perked up when he heard a pair of feet thudding against the rock and dirt, the steps light and agile judging from the sounds they made.

"Morning Karen," he said as pleasantly as his morning demeanor allowed. She took a seat next to him on the ground and returned the verbal gesture. The two gazed at the sunrise in tranquil silence.

"I wish it was always like this," she said suddenly.

"Like what?"

She shifted her weight back and supported the weight of her body with her arms. "Likes this; calm, peaceful, quiet. Why does life have to be so complicated, why us?"

Naruto sighed and leaned back as well. "Well, they say burdens are usually forced on the people who deserve them the least. I'd like to think though, that they're forced on them because they're the only ones capable of dealing with them. I refuse to believe the world needlessly makes people suffer, there has to be a rhyme or reason to it all, we just may not know what it is yet."

"You're a lot wiser than people give you credit for," she said after a moment.

The blond shrugged. "I try."

Another silence, both of them keeping their eyes locked on the sunset. Only after another five minutes did either of them utter a word.

"It's weird," stated Naruto.

Karen glanced over at the blond. "What is?"

"I just...feel a little alone. Ever since Jiraiya broke our link, I just feel...I don't know, I guess maybe 'incomplete' would be the best word. I'd gotten so used to having that little piece of you in my head, and now that it's gone it's like someone left a window open in my mind and an annoying draft is getting in."

"Same here, it's odd," she agreed. "Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"We'll still be friends even after this...won't we?" she asked with shaky uncertainty in her voice. He responded by looking at her like she'd just slapped him upside the head.

"Why would you even ask that, of course we will. I'll be with the FBPS and you'll be queen of your people, we'll definitely see each other again. I'll come visit you if I have to, just like I'll visit home to see Kiba, Sakura, and Haku," he said in a bold voice, trying to bolster her confidence.

She gave him a warm smile and nodded. "Alright, I know I can trust you to keep your word."

He grinned back and hopped up onto his feet, then offered Karen a hand. She grasped it and the blond lifted her up off the rocky ground.

"I've got to get ready for training with Jiraiya, and you're training with Kakashi right?"

She nodded. "That's right."

"Right, well just remember this; I'll always be there for you, even when you don't want me to be, even if you don't ask, I'll be there, I promise. And you know me, I never break a promise."

The next thing he knew, her arms were wrapped around his neck and her head buried in his neck. After a minute of registering what had happened, he returned the embrace and put his arms around her back. They hugged like this before, it was nothing new, but for Naruto, he did it out of more than just friendship. He honestly cared for her, and not just in the way a friend cares for another friend. It was a feeling much stronger than that, and he felt it whenever moments like this arose. Well actually he felt it more often than that, but it was especially strong in these sorts of situations.

All the time they'd spent together, all the fun, the laughs, all the times they'd comforted each other. To Naruto at least, this was more than an assignment, or even friendship. These things he'd been feeling for some time now were something beyond even being best friends. His mind wasn't sure if it was more than the simple crush it started as, but he couldn't help but believe it was. He would put more stock in his heart than his head any day. He wanted to say it was even love, but was it really? He was a teenager, what did he know about something as intense as love- how could he judge that sort of things for himself if he had no idea how it felt.

Sure he had always felt...different around her. Different from when he'd been around even Sakura, who he'd had a pretty large crush on for the majority of their friendship. The feeling that would flood his body when he was around Karen dwarfed any other sensation by a hundred fold, but he was unsure still.

Another concern gripped him as well. The FBPS would hold onto her with an iron grip once they were back now that she was free her bond with the blond. The possibility that he might not even see her again scared him to no end. He knew this definitely wouldn't be the case, but even the slim chance was enough to make him panic. He told himself that he and Kakashi were best fit for the job of protecting her; they knew her the best, she trusted them, they had become friends, but the occasional shot of irrational nervousness still fired through his chest.

He was yanked back to reality suddenly, when she loosened her grip and they broke apart. "Thanks Naruto, I just really needed to hear that."

He smiled back. "Sure thing; just remember that promise."

She nodded, and they both headed back into the cavern, gathering up their respective supplies.

* * *

Ten minutes later Jiraiya approached Naruto, who was ready to begin his training. They both sat cross legged outside the cavern; Kakashi and Karen were off a bit farther down for their training which was farther along and required a bit more space.

"Alright kid, any questions before we get started here?"

Naruto nodded. "I have a question about a spell my father created. On my first day at the FBPS, Kakashi showed me something called a Rasengan round, and he said it was based off of the properties of a spell he'd created. That move you used on Sasuke was the Rasengan wasn't it? I want to know if you could teach me that spell."

Jiraiya raised both his eyebrows in a surprised, but not overly shocked expression. He moved his features back to their previous positions and sighed.

"Well, if it was anyone else I'd say no, but something in my gut says you might actually be able to learn it. Don't be surprised if you don't get it right away, it's a doosy of a spell. It took your father a total of three years to completely master it, and he was the best. The research alone took him months, even I don't have that kind of tenacity," warned the sage.

Naruto put on a thoughtful expression and nodded. "Well then, if I want to fulfill my dream and surpass my parents, then I'm just going to have to beat my dads record. I'll master it in a week."

Almost immediately Jiraiya burst out laughing. Naruto didn't see what was so funny and asked what he was laughing so hard at.

"Sorry kid, but it's just that there's no way you'll learn the entire thing in a week, I couldn't even do that. I saw some of that bout with the Uchiha, and taking into account your age and amount of training, you're definitely a jem in the coal, but even you won't be able to do something like learn the Rasengan in a week."

The blond wore an annoyed scowl and let out a low growl. "Just tell me how to do it so we can get started!"

"Alright, alright, just settle down. It'll take me a little while to gather up the stuff you'll need for that technique, but I at least have what we need on hand at the moment. Don't ask me why, I don't know. Just stay here while I get what we need, then we'll head down the mountain a bit and train by the stream."

Naruto nodded and Jiraiya stood up off the ground and headed back into the cavern. The blond sat there for a few minutes before he heard the heavy footsteps of the ex-FBPS agent re-joining the outside world. He looked over and the giant man was holding a sack over his shoulder and he gestured for Naruto to follow. He quickly hopped to his feet and jogged after him. They followed the trail down the mountain until they began seeing some trees. As they trekked through the significantly greener environment, the blond could already hear light rush of the stream.

After pushing their way through some low hanging branches, they arrived at the vein of flowing water that was so clean it almost seemed completely transparent, which had lush green grass on either side. Jiraiya set the sack down near the edge of the stream, and Naruto took a seat next to him as he leaned over the water. The sage pulled something out of the sack and stuck it in the waters of the stream for a few seconds, before yanking it out and fiddling with it for a few more moments before handing it over to Naruto. The blond looked down, and was met with a water balloon.

"A water balloon? What does this have to do with the Rasengan?" he asked.

"Well see kid," Jiraiya began, "learning the Rasengan is divided up into three different lessons that stack on top of each other. The first step to learning the Rasengan is to be able to burst this water balloon with only your magic by rotating it, as the technique is based around high speed rotation of magical energy. The next step is to be able to pierce a thicker rubber ball, to teach you to increase the density of the energy needed so it can do the necessary damage to the target. Lastly, we come back to the balloons, only your objective this time will be to rotate your dense energy within the balloon _without_ popping it, so you have the necessary control over the rotation so the attack doesn't blow up in your face."

Naruto nodded. "Alright, I think I get it. First I need to learn to rotate my energy quickly enough to pop the balloon, sounds straight forward enough."

The blond took the balloon in his hand and, without wasting any time, pumped some magic through his arm, up to his hand, and into the balloon. He focused on rotating it inside the balloon, but it didn't seem to budge at all. After a few minutes, he let out a frustrated growl, but pressed on none the less.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya looked in with a mixture of amusement and pride.

'_I don't know what it is about this kid, but as much as I know he won't be able to nail this in a week, he's seriously making me want to believe_,' he thought, _'this kid was Minato's gift to the world, you sure know how to pick em' Kakashi.'_

* * *

A few miles away in the mountains, Kakashi and Karen were training as well. The kitsune ex-princess had gotten a head start on her training, and she was making good progress. Kakashi intended to teach her the Chidori, but before that, he needed to increase her speed and reflexes so she could utilize the technique properly.

To maximize efficiency and time, he combined both requirements into one training exercise, which consisted of him strapping a particularly large boulder to her and forcing her to run through the forest as he assaulted her with a variety of spells, firearms (with blank rounds of course), and martial arts. The boulder strengthened the muscles in her legs and back, enhancing her speed, and her reflexes were increased by dodging his attacks.

After the end of the week, she had made astounding progress, but she was still some ways off from the speed needed to fully access the potential of the Chidori. Still, this was the hard part. It would be easier to teach her the magic manipulation aspect of the attack. Fox demons had the largest affinity for magic out of all the other demonic and or supernatural races. Sure, other races were close seconds in magical ability such as vampires, elves, and sprites, but kitsune's were the magical elite.

Karen would have no problems picking up the Chidori after the physical training required for the use of the attack was completed, and Kakashi had a feeling that would be done soon enough.

He snapped back to reality when said redhead came within range, and he ambushed her with two shadow clones hidden away lying in wait. She let out a yelp and jumped out of the way of their attacks, and sprinted off in the opposite direction in a surprised scamper.

Kakashi smiled under his mask and chuckled; he really did love his job.

* * *

An entire day of training, and Naruto had made virtually no progress whatsoever. He was on at least his umpteenth try and he still could only make the balloon jiggle, it stretched under the rotation, but didn't burst. He had been using so much energy in such a short amount of time his legs felt like jelly, but he never felt tired enough to actually quit.

He took in a deep breath and tried again. He pumped energy through his arm, into his hand, and finally within the water of the balloon. He growled and almost threw the balloon on the ground when all that was generated was a slight jiggle of the thin rubber.

"God damn it! What the hell am I doing wrong here!?" he shouted, waking up a sleeping Jiraiya.

"Huh, what? Oh, it's almost sunset, you still training kiddo? Well can't say I'm surprised, the Rasengan is virtually the hardest spell in the world after all."

Naruto ceased his current attempt at rotation. "I've been at this all day and I've barely made any progress at all, it stretches but it won't pop, what am I doing wrong!?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin for a moment before sighing and sitting up. "Toss it here kid, I'll show you how it's done; then you'll at least have an idea of what you're shooting for."

Naruto nodded and tossed him the water filled balloon, which the sage caught easily. He held out his arm, and after a moment, the balloon began to jiggle and swirl violently, bulges began to appear on the surface, like it was boiling on the inside. Finally the balloon popped after a few more seconds of swirling.

"And that's what it should look like, but its getting late, so let's head back to the cavern, grab some dinner, then hit the hay. You're probably exhausted so there's no point in wasting energy all night."

"Yeah," sighed Naruto, "I guess you're right. I'll get it tomorrow anyway."

The blond bent over and grabbed the sack of balloons, but before they left, he filled up a second balloon and tied it securely. He'd train in his sleep if that's what it took to master the Rasengan. With the balloon in hand, he rushed off to catch up with Jiraiya.

**

* * *

**

**There, sixteen is out of the way. I know the next few chapters probably will have little to no action, but just trust me, I'm going somewhere with this. It my not seem like it now, but big stuff is coming up, okay.**

**Now if you'll exuse me, I'm gonna go work a little on Guradian Angel III and then kick back and enjoy the rest of my Friday.**


	17. Chapter 17: Rasengan and Chidori Part 2

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 17

**Rasengan and Chidori**

Part 2

I'm back bitches! What's up everybody, I've returned with more Naruto goodness. These Rasengan training sessions are getting a little annoying to write, mostly because I'm trying to go roughly with how they went in the show, meaning I've got to find which episodes they're in, the watch them all the way through. Annoying, but worth it.

So anyway, final exams are coming up for me and probably a lot of you. I'm a little freaked, I'm gonna be a Senior next year, yikes! Good news is, I took the ACT about a month or so ago, and I finally got my scores back. Turns out a scored a 24 on the actual test, and completely killed the national average for the writing portion (which was optional). All in all, if I so choose, I don't even have to take the test Senior year now; I could get into college with the score I have now.

Okay, I've rambled long enough, sorry about that. READ!

* * *

It was late in the after evening, nearing the end of the day. It was getting slightly chilled on the mountain, so Naruto had put on a light hooded sweater during his training session. He'd begun learning the Rasengan the previous day, but had made little progress today. Jiraiya made him quit after some time, much to his protest, to teach him other skills. They had gone through some new martial arts stances and a few techniques for him to practice, but now that he was free of the sage, he was back to trying to pop the water balloon.

He was still having the same problem he was yesterday, the balloon, while stretching and vibrating, was not popping. With each failed attempt his frustration increased until he finally just tossed it away. Luckily, Karen was sitting around watching him, mostly because she lacked the strength to move her legs thanks to Kakashi, and caught the balloon before it struck the ground.

"Just settle down Naruto, it's nothing to get so worked up about."

"Yes it is, I only have five more days to learn this spell, I'll never make it at this rate!" he exclaimed.

She sighed and set the balloon down in front of her and began rolling it between her hands. "You're putting way too much pressure on yourself, just relax. I know it's important to you because it's your dads spell, but it's also one of the strongest on record. No one's expecting you to just pick it up like that."

He turned to face her. "You saw what it did to Sasuke though, if I had that kind of attack, it'd give me a total edge, and I'd be able to…to…"

Karen raised a curious eyebrow. "To…what?"

Naruto wasn't even listening; he was too focused on what she was doing with the balloon. It rolled back and forth, swishing the waters left to right, up and down. As he observed the movement, inspiration suddenly struck him.

"Oh my God…Karen you're a genius!"

"Yeah well, you know…wait, why am I a genius?"

Naruto's expression grew more and more excited. "Just toss it here and I'll show you!"

Without further questions, Karen tossed him the balloon and he took a deep breath. His hand whipped around the balloon as fast as he could possibly manage, swishing the water. He took what Karen had been doing and applied to the technique; he was rotating the water in two different directions, hopefully creating enough force and friction to pop the balloon.

He swished the water around and bit down on his tongue to keep concentration. He pumped more magic into the balloon until the built up pressure was too much and the rubber sphere popped in a shower of water. Naruto immediately shot up and cheered in success.

"Yes, I nailed it, and it's all thanks to you Karen!"

He rushed over and hugged her before running off to get a replacement balloon and show Jiraiya. He and Karen had been sitting outside during the sunset, and Jiraiya was with Kakashi back in the cavern. In his excitement he almost tripped over his own feet a few times on his way inside, but was able to catch his balance each time and make it safely into the main area of the cavern where his two teachers sat.

"Jiraiya, Jiraiya! I finally figured it out, how to pop the balloon!" he said, coming to a halt just short of running straight into the old man. The sage looked up at him with a bewildered expression.

"Alright, grab a balloon and show me what you got then kid."

The blond nodded and ran over to the sack containing all the balloons, grabbed one, filled it up with water from a nearby canteen, and tied it tight. He rejoined the two other men and sat cross-legged as he held the balloon out with his left hand. Like lightning, his right hand shot all across the surface of the balloon, manipulating the water within as he'd done just a moment ago when he tested it out with Karen.

In no time at all, the water filled rubber ball popped and water sprayed into the air in all directions.

Jiraiya nodded in approval. "Impressive kid, care to explain how you did it, just to be sure you actually learned something."

"Alright, first I remembered back to how the balloon looked when you rotated it. The surface was really bumpy and eratic, like the water was boiling on the inside, so was trying to figure out just how to make it look like that. It wasn't until just a minute ago that I figured out the problem; the reason my balloon was so smooth was because the water was only going in one direction. I needed the water to collide with itself, so I started moving the water in multiple directions by balancing the balloon with my left hand, and applying the magic with my right. Karen gave me the idea."

Jiraiya grinned and chuckled while giving his godson a thumbs up. "Well it's definitely a strange method, but it works. I have to admit I didn't think you'd get it any time soon, but since you've proven me wrong, lets see what else you can do. I'll move you on to the second stage of training."

Naruto grew a wide smile filled with pride, and laughed excitedly. Jiraiya knelt down near the sack that held the balloons, and pulled out a while ball about the same size. He tossed it to him, and the blond caught it with ease.

"I'll tell you what to do tomorrow, for now just hold onto it. In the meantime, you're still done with training, so feel free to do what you like."

"Got it, we'll start in the morning."

With that he gave them both a short wave and turned to head back outside. He stepped up the rocks to the threshold of the cavern and his eyes were hit with the concentrated orange beams of light of the dropping sun. He breathed in happily and looked to his left, and saw Karen leaning against the wall as she had been when he rushed in. He walked over and plopped down next to her, sitting with his right hand propped up against this right knee.

"Well, I finally finished stage one, I get to start the second one tomorrow."

"Good job, I knew you'd figure it out eventually."

His smile stayed plastered to his face. "Actually you gave me the idea when you were rolling the balloon around, so really it's all thanks to you that I figured it out."

"Oh, so that's why you called me a genius."

"Yeah, but you're a genius most of the time anyway, so it's not like it was anything new."

She snorted and playfully nudged his side with her shoulder; he responded by doing the same, the both of them laughing to themselves. They sat there for a while watching the sunset again. Karen sighed and leaned over on her side a bit, resting her head on Naruto's shoulder. At first the blond had to push back the urge to suddenly stand up, but after a moment, he just sat back and kept his eyes forward, calmly letting the rush of heat drain from his face.

They stayed like that until the sun went completely underneath the horizon. The sky had lost all light save for the crescent moon hovering high above, and the sky twinkled with bright stars, their glow uninhibited by large city lights. Naruto glanced over; judging by her light steady breathing and unmoving body, he knew Karen was fast asleep. Not surprising considering what she'd been doing all day.

After a moment, he found himself staring at her, and smiled. He brought his free hand up and brushed away some stray hair hanging over her face. It was nice, but he eventually lowered his hand and sighed, a sad frown sliding onto his face.

"Man...why am I doing this to myself."

* * *

The next morning, Karen awoke early in the morning. She yawned and stretched out her arms and legs to free them of the stiffness of disuse during the night. She grunted and sat up, feeling something fall into her lap. She looked down and saw a thin gray sweater that had been draped over her during the night. She easily recognized it as Naruto's sweater, and smiled, and found herself gripping it tighter than she normally would. She quickly relaxed her grip, and after standing up and brushing off her clothes, noticed said blond was gone and wondered where he was.

Down the mountain a ways near the stream, Jiraiya and Naruto sat across from each other, the younger holding the rubber ball he'd received yesterday.

"Alright, so now we're on the second level of training. Now, while the object of the first level was rotation, this one is all about power. This ball is a lot thicker than the balloon, and there's no water inside, so it's going to take a lot more effort. I want you to rotate the air inside the ball and make it pop just like you did the water balloon."

He nodded and looked down at the ball. _'Alright, so if I'm supposed to burst this thing, then the method I used on the water balloon should work just as well here, I just need to use more power.'_

Naruto extended his left hand, and began firing his right hand around the surface of the balloon. He rapidly pumped more energy than he had before into the process, and swirled the air inside in all different directions. For all his efforts though, all he was rewarded with was a few bumps bubbling to the surface, then nothing.

He growled and glared down at the ball. "Damn, this is gonna be harder than I thought."

He took a deep breath in and exhaled while loosening up his arms. "Alright, let's try this again."

Naruto built up even more energy than last time and held out the ball. He suddenly released it and pushed it through his right hand, swirling the air inside the ball it high speeds with his rapid hand movement. Even with the added energy put into the equation, the result varied little from his previous attempt.

He sighed heavily and leaned back, his hands aching a bit after that try. He held up the ball and looked at it; this was gonna take a while.

* * *

Later, on the other side of the mountain, Karen was also knee deep in training. She'd gone through rigorous physical conditioning to prepare for the technique that Kakashi was going to show her today. She sat cross-legged as Kakashi took off his FPBS jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt.

"Alright Karen, this is it. You've reached the necessary physical conditions, so I'll show you just exactly what you'll be learning."

He turned to his right and faced a large boulder about forty feet away from them. "Now, watch closely."

Kakashi immediately went through a series of hand signs and then shot his hand down to the ground, gathering magic into his hand, and suddenly lightning crackled in the agents palm, blasting away any earth or grass that happened to be in its way. The next thing Karen knew, Kakashi rocketed forward like a bullet; the only thing she could really make out was the glowing blur of the lightning. She watched in anticipation as Kakashi closed in on the boulder, and when he did, the explosion was instantaneous.

She waited for a few moments before Kakashi leaped back out of the plume of dust and dirt, landing briskly on his feet and wiping the dirt from his hands.

"And that's how its done," he said simply, "just do the correct hand signs and charge your magic in your hand. It might take a while to get just how much you need to charge, but it shouldn't take too long."

She nodded and glanced down at her hands. She flew through the hand signs she saw Kakashi use, and placed her hand down low just as he had. She pumped the magic into her hand and charged it. She felt a few sparks of static run in between her fingers, but nothing like the light show Kakashi had produced. She cut the flow of magic and grumbled.

Kakashi smiled and went back to his book. "Like I said, it'll take a while."

* * *

By the end of the day, Naruto was worn out. The sun was setting once again, and he had hit another dead end with his training. Almost no progress whatsoever for the entire day. He was on his back now, his arms burning from all the magic they had pushed through them throughout the day. He doubted he could even get up with the amount of strength he had left.

"Looks like you'll be sore in the morning," said Jiraiya's voice above him.

The blond looked farther behind him and saw the sage standing over his downed form. "I'm sore now, and I don't think I can get up."

The sage chuckled and grabbed the boy by his shirt and pulled him up, slinging him over his shoulder.

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind," he groaned.

"You wanted help, so don't complain. Your father never complained."

Jiraiya smiled when he found that was sufficient to keep him quiet the entire walk back up the mountain. Of course, he'd never tell his godson what a blatant lie that was. In fact, compared to Minato, Naruto was a perfectly behaved child; of course Kushina was an ever bigger handful and most of the boys personality came from her, but at least she never questioned his instructions. It might have been the ANBU training, but she was shockingly good at following orders despite her rebellious character. Minato had always been the one to deviate from the original plans and disregard instructions.

Once they had reached the camp and made it back into the cavern, they found that Kakashi had already brought Karen back, who was fast asleep.

"Rough day?" asked Kakashi as he flipped through to the next page.

"Not in the mood Kakashi, need sleep," replid Naruto groggily.

The masked agent chuckled but kept on reading his book, paying no more mind to the outside world. Meanwhile, Jiraiya set Naruto down and the boy immedeatly slumped down and crawled over to his sleeping bag. He was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

Jiraiya meanwhile, stepped over and sat down next to Kakashi. "They sure are something aren't they," the sage commented.

Kakashi nodded, looking up from his book for the first time since his return. "Indeed they are."

**

* * *

Alrighty then!** **Another chapter comes to a close. Naruto and Karen are getting closer, so all you fluff addicts can stop bugging me already, seriously, it's getting old. I don't mind the suggestions and constructive criticism, but the PM's of "When are Karen and Naruto getting together, you need more romance!?" are getting extremely annoying.**

**It's coming okay, it's on its way, have some damn patience! By the time we reach the showdown with Orochimaru and afterward, everything will have fallen into place between them, but that's still about ten chapters away (or so). Until then, I'll try and step up the fluff a little bit, but it's not the only focus here, so again, have some damn patience.**

**Thanks to everyone who's leaving intelligent reviews and sending PM's that deserve a coherent response (you know who you are).** ** Sorry I had to snap like that guys, but I really needed to get that out there.**

**Review and stuff please.**


	18. Chapter 18: Rasengan and Chidori Part 3

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 18

**Rasengan and Chidori**

**Part 3**

Hello all, I have returned! I've got some good news, and some even better news! The good news, it's summer break bitches! The even better news is just the other day I was looking through the story stats, and I was really proud and impressed with both myself and you guys. I think I'll share it with you. I currently, as of June 9th, 2009, have 23,800+ hits, 152 favorites, 147 alerts, 156 reviews, and I'm in the favorite author's list of 34 members! I haven't even been on this site for a full year yet; I didn't expect to get a really popular story going until at least after my first year, but apparently you guys really like this story.

Now, since it's summer break for me, I'm going to start trying to pump out chapters faster than my usual sluggish pace, and I'm going to start challenging myself by trying to do three stories at the same time instead of just two. I have a third story already planned out and a good portion pre-written, so I can just update and forget, leaving me time to work on this.

For those of you who care, (and I'm proud of this because absolutely no one has tried this before as far as I know), it's an Avatar: the Last Airbender/Devil May Cry crossover. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, I think I've hit a balance and can make this work, so just bear with me. I'll have it up later today if I have my way, so check it out!

* * *

"Dah, come on you son of a bitch, pop!" shouted Naruto.

It was the next day and Jiraiya had taken Naruto back out for another training session. It as noon and he had been outside for six hours, doing workout sets, learning and perfecting martial arts techniques, and working on magical control for the first four. The latest two hours he had spent trying to pop the balloon he had gotten from Jiraiya. It wasn't going well.

He growled as he pumped in more magic and tried to swirl the air inside the balloon, but no matter what he did, it just didn't want to work. He was barely doing anything that could be seen from the outside. However much he tried, he couldn't win.

"Having some trouble kid?"

Naruto turned around panting and saw Jiraiya walking down the path from the mountain. He had gone to the other side of the mountain to check on Kakashi and Karen's progress while he was trying to get the Rasengan.

"No epiphanies yet; I can't get this one," he replied.

"Well it was impressive enough that you managed to figure out the first step in the amount of time you did, I guess I can give you a little hint here."

Naruto perked up and looked over at the sage as he approached closer.

"Alright, give me your hand."

He had a confused look on his face.

"Just give it here."

Still confused, he agreed and held out his hand. Jiraiya grabbed it in one hand, and pulled out a permanent marker in the other. He bit the cap off and brought the tip down, drawing a small dot on his hand. Naruto brought his hand back up and looked at it, still not sure where he was going with this.

"So…what's this for exactly?"

Jiraiya sighed. "Let me guess, one of your problems during basic was that you had trouble concentrating right?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess. What's that got to do with anything though?"

Jiraiya put the marker in his mouth, holding it with his teeth, and reached into his robes, rummaging around for something. He pulled out a small piece of paper and showed it to him.

"Just look at this for a second," he instructed.

Naruto did as told. "Okay...how does staring at a blank piece of scrap paper relate to mastering the most difficult spell in existance?"

Jiraiya took the paper back and grabbed the marker, poking the center of the paper with it.

"Now take a look at it again."

Naruto sighed but looked again. "You know, I want to believe that there's some sort of hidden message here, but since I know it's _you_ I'm talking to, I'm leaning towards the belief that you're just screwing with me."

"Aw, have some faith in me kid. Now, believe it or not there is a point to all this; see, when I showed the paper to you before, it was blank, and your eyes didn't focus on any one point because it all looked the same and nothing drew them to a focal point. When I put on that dot though, it contrasted against the white background, and your eyes were drawn to it, right?"

The blond nodded. "Yeah, that's about right."

"Well, that's what the mark on your hand is for, it gives your eyes, and by extension your brain, a point to focus on and increase your concentration. From now on, I want you to visualize that point on your hand when you try this step, and whenever you end up mastering the Rasengan. It'll make it easier for you to focus your magic."

Naruto nodded and looked down on his mark. "Alright, that actually makes sense, thanks."

"Well, give it a shot!" said Jiraiya expectantly.

The blond nodded again and took the balloon in both hands. He inhaled deeply and blew it out, pumping magic into his hands, and swirling the air within. He closed stared down at the balloon, imagining that it wasn't there and instead could see the mark in his hand clearly; he visualized the magic swirling in a whirlwind circling that one point. He was practically in a trance, mentally seeing all his magic flying in violently uniform spheres. His gaze was only broke when he heard a sudden his, and his hands felt the rubber flatten. He looked down, and saw a small ripped hole in the side of the ball, and smiled.

"Ah, see, told you it would work. First try with the mark and you already got it to leak. Now all you need is to do is work on your output to make it pop, but that I'm leaving up to you."

"Got it, I'll definitely get it now!"

His hope restored and his drive to learn the Rasengan stronger than ever, he returned to his training. Two hours passed after that, and Naruto kept trying over and over, but the results...

"Son of a BITCH!" shouted Naruto.

Naruto could indeed make the balloon pop, that was all he could do. He had gone through well over fifty balloons and every time he got the same result.

"Seriously, I'm getting a little fucking pissed off!"

"Naruto, could you keep it down. I can't nap if you're constantly screaming your head off," said Jiraiya, sitting the branches of a nearby tree.

The blond growled and took the next balloon in his hand. "Fuck it, I'm just gonna blow the shit outta this one!"

"You do that," said Jiraiya drearily, trying to get back to sleep.

Naruto pumped all the magic he could possibly muster and swirled it around the visualized mark on his palm. At this point, he didn't care if what he was doing knocked him into a coma, he was determined to utterly decimate this damn balloon. His hand flurried around the white sphere in a rapid storm of movement. He clenched his teeth and his eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

As his hands flew across the surface of the balloon, he was so engrossed with his concentration and visualization that he didn't even notice that the energy around the balloon was becoming visible. Jiraiya noticed though; he had cracked his eyes open to check on the kids progress when he saw a sudden glare and looked closer to see what was going on.

An aura of magical energy had formed around Naruto as he pushed more power into the small localized space and the build-up culminated in the one logical outcome that anyone who saw it could guess was coming; a huge-ass explosion. The dust suddenly kicked up twenty, maybe thirty feet into the air, and blew the blond clear into the river, making a loud splash. Jiraiya jumped down front the tree and ran over to him. After pulling him out of the water, he examined him for any injuries.

There was nothing serious, but he did notice that his hands were slightly burnt.

"Damn, what are you kid? Not everyday you can bunch magic energy so densely together it burns people's skin," he muttered to himself.

Jiraiya sighed, but picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. It was going to be a long walk back to the cavern.

**

* * *

Same time: Sapporo**

Sasuke sat at the edge of the foot of his bed, rubbing his left shoulder with his right hand. Most of his injuries had mended themselves, but his lower torso was still a knot of aches and strain; he couldn't move too much lest he cause himself unnecessary pain. Over all the time he'd spent healing up, he'd been running through possible ways to get to Naruto without the sage getting involved. The truth was, he had no idea what Naruto was doing, or when -or even if- he was ever alone.

Still, the idea of Naruto getting even stronger, possibly even coming near his equal, was something he looked forward to. As long as there were no unwanted interruptions, it would be the second most satisfying battle he'd ever win.

Sasuke was stuck in his thoughts until he heard a knock on his rooms door. It couldn't be Zaku or the other two, they were all off trying to find Naruto and the fox bitches' location. He leaned over to the right a bit, ignoring the shot of aching pains that fired up his side, and grabbed his chokuto that was leaning against the side of his bed.

He crept over to the door, the sword tightly held in his grip. He quickly threw open the door of his room and prepared to thrust with his chokuto.

"Now, now Sasuke, you should be more careful with the toys I give you. You wouldn't want to hurt someone would you?"

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise when he saw Orochimaru standing on the other side of the threshold of the doorway. What was he doing here, he never left his lair unless in was incredibly important, and apparently nothing was even incredibly important because he'd never seen him leave. He quickly took a hold on his composure and put back on his regular look of frustrated seriousness.

"What are you doing here Orochimaru?"

He chuckled and walked into his room. "Oh nothing, it's just a little birdie told me you were unable to prevent Naruto from reaching Jiraiya, and now he's learning under him, and at a frightening pace I'm told."

Sasuke didn't need a degree to know that the three little operatives were also feeding Orochimaru intelligence and leaving him out of the loop, in fact he expected it, but he never dreamed Orochimaru would ever leave his own base.

"Exactly how frightening of a pace?" he asked.

"Frightening enough that he's learning the Rasengan, and apparently making progress."

Sasuke looked at him, mentally he was curious. "What's the Rasengan?"

Orochimaru chuckled again. "The Rasengan is a what gave you the majority of the wounds. It's a wind based spell that involves high speed rotation of magical energy into a small sphere. It's a surprisingly complex technique; one even I am not completely sure how to execute properly."

Now Sasuke was definitely interested. Naruto as learning a spell even Orochimaru couldn't do, and not only that, but if that technique was what had really given him all these wounds, then he was right, it would be a satisfying battle.

"It doesn't matter," he said confidently, "I'll still be able to beat him, the only problem is the sage."

"That's exactly why I'm here Sasuke my boy. You see, with Jiraiya added to this situation, I've seen fit to intervene. I'll apprehend Naruto and the fox girl myself, you're no longer fit to handle this scenario."

Sasuke almost shouted out his objection out loud, but was able to hold onto his tongue at the last moment. Orochimaru noticed the almost outburst though.

"That's not a problem for you, is it Sasuke?" he asked, almost mockingly.

He wanted to scream yes, he wanted to run out right now and fight Naruto himself, even if that sage was still there. He didn't though, all he did was stay silent and nod.

**

* * *

Northern Japanese Mountains**

Karen panted heavily; she almost had it. The last charge she'd made pretty much exploded in her face, but all the one's she done before weren't enough and just fizzled out. She was damn near almost out of magic; this would probably be her last one. She felt it in her gut though, this was it, she'd found the right charge.

She inhaled deeply and let it out slowly as she built up the last amounts of spare magic she had left. She could feel her hand start to tighten up and the heat was building. The she slowly eased it in little bits at a time until she was convinced it at least wasn't going to completely explode, then she forced it in at a faster pace. Then she finally heard it.

She heard the chirping sound that normally accompanied a Chidori technique. She popped her eyes open and looked down at it; it was so bright she had to squint her eyes, but it was there and it was finished.

She smiled and moved to the next step: moving.

All that extra work put into her leg and back strength really helped as she rocketed across the opening towards the training boulder. She closed in faster than she could have ever expected, and threw her hand forward. The lightning collided with the rock, and she could feel her punch slamming though it like she was punching a pillow.

As her fist burrowed deeper and deeper, she felt the lightning and her magic slowly dissipate until it was practically gone, and she jumped back and out of the plume of dust and debris. She landed on both her feet but quickly lost her balance and fell onto her back, exhausted.

After she panted out half her lungs, she lifted her head enough to catch a glimpse of the damage she'd done. It was barely half the size of the one Kakashi had done, but for her first successful attack, she was proud of herself. She laid her head back down on the grass and laughed.

She heard a pair of hands clapping nearby and looked to her left and saw Kakashi leaning against a tree, for once not reading.

"Congratulations, your first Chidori. Not bad for your first one to, yours is a bit bigger than my first one was."

She grinned widely. "I'll just keep getting better to. You better watch your back or I might just take your technique from you."

"Well, you're exhausted, so let's get you back to the cavern so you can rest a bit," he said, grasping her hand and helping her up.

"Yeah," she sighed, "sleep sounds good."

* * *

Back up in the cavern, Jiraiya had gotten Naruto back up the mountain, but it didn't take long for him to wake up again. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the blond was now constantly pestering Jiraiya for the third stage of Rasengan training. The old sage was getting more and more irritated by the unending whining, so he finally caved.

"Fine, fine, you want to learn the third stage so badly, here we go then," he sighed.

He reached over to the sack he kept in the cave with him and pulled out one of the thin balloons that Naruto had used in the first stage of training. Jiraiya blew into it, inflated it, and tossed it to Naruto, which he caught easily. The blond squeezed it a few times with a confused look on his face.

"Okay, what's with the balloons again?"

"This is the last stage, you need to apply what you've learned from the first two stages into this one. You need to use the rotation of the first stage, but also use the massive power of the second."

He still wasn't getting it. "Let me ask you this, if I already have the rotation and the power down, what's this last one for, it sounds like I've got everything I need."

"Weren't you listening the first day I told you about this technique, I explained what this was for then didn't I?"

"Explain it to me again anyway," he groaned.

The sage sighed again but supposed he wasn't going to get very far if he didn't at least have some idea what he was doing. "Alright then, this can best be explained visually."

He turned to a cavern wall and held up his right hand. "Now, with what you've learned of the Rasengan already, this is what you're capable of."

Jiraiya formed a swirling ball of blue magic in his hand and thrust it forward. The energy flew to every angle the second it hit the rock, and did nothing but crush a bit of the rock on a spiral shaped pattern.

"Now this is the fully mastered version after the third step of training."

Naruto watched even more closely as he formed another ball in his hand and pushed it into the rock. This time, instead of dispersing, it drilled into the rock and created a small tunnel in the wall. When Jiriaya pulled his hand back, there was a perfectly round indent in the rock. After observing it, then the balloon, then the rock again, Nauto snapped his fingers.

"Ah, I think I understand what you're trying to show me here! With just power and rotations, there's nothing holding my magic together when I use the Rasengan, so the object of this last step is to make it as fast and strong as I can without popping the balloon from the inside! I need to learn how to hold it together in a small compact space so it doesn't wildly fly everywhere!"

Jiraiya grinned and nodded. "Exactly right, you're getting the hang of this pretty quickly. Who knows, you might actually prove me wrong and learn this in a week after all."

"Just watch me."

He lifted the balloon and applied the rotations and then the power subsequently. The balloon instantly popped.

"Okay, it might take a little longer than I thought."

**

* * *

**

**Alrighty then, chapter 18 is over and done with. Karen's at least learned the Chidori, and Naruto's on the last leg of the Rasengan training. The only problem is that Orochimaru's shown up...fuck. Anyway, the story will finally start heating up and heading into overdrive at the end of the next chapter, and all chapters following. **

**The training will be done for a good while if I have my way, and there'll be more violence, story development, characters, and yes, even romance. I'd go into another rant on how annoying some of you fluff-fans have been, but I don't want it to spoil my good mood. As stated above, this story's doing great, now give yourselves a pat on the back for being awesome.  
**

**Anyway, my new story that I mentioned above will be up some time either later today or early tomorrow (by early, I mean noon, cuz that's when I get up nowadays), so keep a look out for it.**

**Reviews if you please.  
**


	19. Chapter 19: Inner Demon

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 19

**Inner Demon**

Hey guys, what's happenin! I would have gotten this little number out sooner, but I wanted to get my newer fic on two feet first, plus I was having a little trouble deciding on what exactly to do here, but what I decided on I think came out pretty good. This chapter is the set up for the more exciting next chapter, but this one still has some decent action in it, so you won't be getting bored.

Read and be stupefied!

* * *

Two days, two damn days and still nothing but more and more failures. Sunset was just about over and done, leading into night, and Naruto had been trying non-stop to try and compact the Rasengan into a tight sphere, but he just couldn't hold it together. He'd been training with almost no sleep, and no one, not even Karen could get him to come back to the cavern. The short time he'd actually slept, he did outside.

He stood leaning his head against one of the only trees nearby that wasn't completely mutilated, and panting like he had just coughed up a lung. His hands hurt so much they wouldn't stop shaking; he could barely even clench his fist anymore. His fingers were practically locked up in place.

"Damn it…what am I…doing wrong," he murmured to himself between gasps of breath.

He slumped down onto his knees and closed his eyes. There was no way, no way he was mastering this in two days. His week would be up in two days, and what did he have to show for it; just a spell that he still struggled with even in its incomplete form, that's what. Of course no one ever expected him to finish it in a week, but to him, it wasn't a matter of just mastering it, it was a matter of taking another step to fulfilling his dream. He needed to know, he needed to know if he could actually be like his father, this was his self-imposed way to improve. If it weren't for the fact that his hands were about to fall off, he would have punch the bark of the tree in frustration.

"How…how did my dad do this? Was he really…really this strong; how can I possibly measure up…to that?"

His breathing was becoming slightly less labored, but it still ached in his chest every time he inhaled air.

"Naruto?"

The blond weakly lifted his head and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and sat up against the trunk of the tree and saw Karen standing over him.

"Hey Karen…what's up?"

She had a small smile on her face and knelt down in front of him.

"I came to see how you were doing; I guess I got my answer."

Naruto lifted up his damn near broken hand and looked at its sorry shape. His skin was ripped and shredded from the constant Rasengans.

"Yeah…it's not too good right now. I can't do it Karen, this last step is unbelievable. I can't keep the rotation and the power up at the same time and still keep it all together."

She sighed and grabbed both his hands. He winced at first, but patiently watched to see what she was doing.

"I can't really help you with the Rasengan, but I can do something about the pain at least."

As she held both his hands, her own started to glow in a dim green light, and little by little he felt his pain slipping away. That was when he remembered something she said back when they had first met.

"Right…I almost forgot kitsune have healing powers."

She nodded. "Mine's not very strong, but I can at least help ease the pain in your hands."

After a moment, the light faded and she let his hands go. He lifted them up again and clenched them a few times; the pain was almost non-existent.

"That's a lot better, thanks. I'm still pretty much out of gas, but at least my hands aren't burning like they were."

Karen moved to the side and took a seat on the ground next to him. "Glad I could help."

They sat like that for a few minutes, not saying anything. It was a comfortable silence, one that the blond honestly missed after training for almost three days straight. It was a serene and calming atmosphere.

There was something nagging at Naruto's mind though, an idea he'd been considering since this morning. There was still one card in his hand that he had yet to play, one that might give him the edge he needed to pull off the Rasengan.

"Hey Karen, I had an idea this morning. There's still one thing that I still need to master, and I think it might help with the Rasengan to."

She already suspected what he was going to say, but asked anyway. "What's that?"

"Those demonic powers I got a while back, when I died. I haven't really tried tapping into them since back when we were still back at the FBPS headquarters. I've gotten stronger, and I'm able to control magic better, so maybe I can control some that to."

"I guess that makes sense, but I don't think you should try it unless Jiraiya is around. If something went wrong, he might be the only one who can fix it," she warned.

Naruto seemed to agree and nodded. "You're probably right; doing it alone might be dangerous."

"Don't think about it right now, right now you need to get some sleep. I'll talk to Jiraiya about your idea once we get back to the cavern, you just rest."

He nodded. "Alright, to bed I go."

Karen stood up and extended her hand to him. He took it firmly, and she helped him through the whole walk up the mountain back to the cavern, and his bed.

* * *

Night passed quickly and the next day came into light earlier than Naruto would have liked. He rubbed his eyes and groaned as he sat up. After some stretching and yawning, he crawled out of bed and threw on some fresh clothes; a simple T-shirt and some jeans.

He immediately went in search of Jiraiya to talk to him about his plan. Karen said she would mention it to him yesterday, but he wanted to be sure. He exited the cavern and found the gray haired sage sitting cross-legged near the ledge overlooking the mountainous forest.

"That you Naruto?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yup, I'm up and at em'; so, did Karen talk to you yesterday?" the blond asked as he walked up beside him.

He nodded. "She did, and I have to admit it's a pretty interesting idea. Believe me, there's definitely things that could go wrong, but I think the ups outweighs the downs. Karen and Kakashi went out to do some quick workouts about an hour ago, so they should be back soon. As soon as they're back we can give it a shot."

"Really, you mean we can actually do this!?"

"It was our next stop after the Rasengan anyway, but I you think it might help you master the technique, then I don't see why we can't try."

"Can't try what?" asked a calm voice.

They both looked over to see Kakashi walk up the trial with Karen trailing behind.

"Oh good, you're back. I guess we can start this now then."

Kakashi sighed. "I ask again, try what?"

"We're going to see if Naruto can tap into his demonic powers and use them to help with mastering the Rasengan," answered Jiraiya.

Kakashi looked to Naruto, obviously concerned. "Are you sure you want to do this Naruto?"

He nodded. "I've got it; I might as well use it."

"Alright, if we're doing this, we might as well get on with it now. Naruto, I need you to sit down. Karen, Kakashi, I'd recommend standing back just in case."

They agreed and stepped back to the rock wall of the mountain, and Naruto took a seat across from Jiraiya. As soon as everyone was settled in and ready, Jiraiya started by explaining Naruto's situation.

"From what Kakashi has told me about your situation, you haven't fully awakened the abilities to the point where they've become basic to your bodies natural functions. For you to be able to access them at any given point, not just when your life is in danger, you're going to need to awaken them from within."

Naruto just gave him a blank look. "What?"

Jiraiya sighed. "You'll need to travel to your inner mind and access them there."

"How do I do that?"

"Well it's quite simple actually. See the interrogation corp. use people called Mindwalkers to extract information from people's inner minds. Now while entering another mind takes quite a while to learn, entering your own mind is much easier. All it takes is five hand seals and you let the spell do the rest, now watch closely."

Jiraiya slowly went through five hand signs and Naruto committed them to memory. The sage went through them two more times just to make sure Naruto understood it.

"Now, once you're enter your inner mind, it'll be up to you to access the power. If you succeed, or you can't figure it out and want to come back out, then just do those hand signs in reverse, and you'll be pulled back out."

The blond nodded. "Right, got it."

"Good, are you ready then?"

"Yeah, I'll see you guys soon."

Naruto closed his eyes and flew through the hand signs to activate the spell. As soon as his hand movements were finished, he felt a tugging against his head, and he felt the sensation of falling backwards. Suddenly the blackness around him shattered like glass, and he suddenly felt the sensation of being wet. He looked around and from what he could gather, he was in a sewer.

"Oh, wonderful, my brain is the equivalent of a damp sewer; this is doing wonders for my self confidence."

He sighed, but knew he wasn't going to accomplish anything by complaining and sitting around, so he headed off down the hallway. The constant dripping of water was annoying and it really made him want to go to the bathroom. It was dim, narrow, and wet, not exactly his idea of a comfortable inner mind. He must be more messed up that he thought.

He felt like he was walking around in one maze-like circle for hours until he came across a hallway with a weird light at the end. He picked up speed and ran to the end of the hall and into a much larger room. It was a bit brighter; the walls were lined with torches but the actual room was empty save for a large statue of a fox with nine tails on the left end of the room.

Naruto looked around inside until he heard a low growl and looked behind him. There, in a crouched position, was a red fox. It was larger than any fox he'd ever seen, at least the size of a bear, and it didn't look happy.

"Okay boy, just heel alright, I don't want any trouble," he said, holding up his hands trying to show he meant no harm. It didn't do any good, and the fox pounced.

* * *

On the outside, Naruto was still. His face was calm and he was sitting in a cross-legged stance, like he was meditating. Kakashi, Karen, and Jiraiya were waiting around for him to finally come out of it, but the sage knew it might take a while.

"Is he alright in there?" asked Karen.

"I don't see why he shouldn't be, but then again everyone has a different inner mind, so even I'm not sure what exactly is going on in there," answered Jiraiya.

"Don't worry Karen," assured Kakashi, "I'm sure Naruto will be just fine; he's been through harder stuff than this."

She returned her gaze to the meditating blond boy. He looked calm enough, but then again that wasn't really saying much considering everything was happening on the inside. She couldn't explain why, but her instincts were telling her that something was wrong here. Normally she would just say she was being paranoid, but she was learning more and more to trust her instincts over what she just saw and heard.

* * *

Far down the slope of the mountain, Sasuke looked up to the cliff where Naruto sat. Orochimaru and Kabuto stood with him, the snake man with a sickening grin on his face.

"You all know the plan," he said, "I will summon one of my great snakes and hold off Jiraiya, meanwhile Kabuto will combat Kakashi. Sasuke, it will be your job to capture the girl. Once she is in hand and the rest are dealt with, Naruto will be easy prey."

They both nodded. Orochimaru went threw hand signs and raised his hands.

"Art of Summoning!"

He slammed his hands down to the ground and suddenly black marks extended across the grass and dirt. Smoke exploded up from the ground and Sasuke felt himself being raised up from the ground quickly. For a few seconds, the smoke was so thick he couldn't see anything, but eventually he was raised up high enough that he could see everything.

They were atop a giant three headed snake that at it's tallest was able to raise them all the way up the length to the cliff where Naruto was. Sasuke was on the left head, Orochimaru on the center, and Kabuto on the right. He looked down and saw them all. Jiraiya was already going through hand signs, probably to do a summon of his own, and Karen and Kakashi were heading for Naruto. Meanwhile the blond himself was sitting perfectly still, as if in some sort of trance. Either way, Orochimaru took notice of it and smirked.

"Sasuke, Kabuto, go!" shouted Orochimaru.

Sasuke and Kabuto jumped off their respective snake heads at the same time to intercept their targets. Sasuke flew down and tried to nail Karen with a punch, but she was able to leap back in time to dodge it, and hit fist slammed into the rock instead, shattering the stone against his clenched fist. Kabuto landed in front of Kakashi and threw a few well aimed jabs at him in order to hit several pressure points. The masked agent was able to dodge the strikes and slid back, gaining distance.

Jiraiya ran forward and abandoned his hand signs, being the only one to still not be drawn into a fight, and tried to reach Naruto. He reached out his hand for the boy, but before he could reach him, the left head of the snake Orochimaru summoned came down with its mouth gaping and closed its jaws around the edge of the cliff where Naruto was still in his meditative state. In an instant, the snake had eaten Naruto whole.

"No!" shouted the sage.

"Naruto!" he heard both Karen and Kakashi cry out.

Clenching his teeth, the flew through the hand signs he was originally using, and jumped right off the edge of the cliff. After biting his thumb and letting blood flow down a bit, he extended his hands downward.

"Art of Summoning!"

Another huge plume of smoke poofed out and Jiraiya too felt himself being raised up higher. Once the smoke cleared, the giant Toad Boss Gamabunta was revealed and stood on the mountainside along with Orochimaru's snake.

**"Eh, Jiraiya! Why did you summon me?" **the Toad Boss demanded.

"Take a look Gama, we've got a snake to deal with."

**"Well I'll be, if it isn't Orochimaru. Well, in that case, let's get on with it; I've always wanted a snakeskin wallet!"**

With that, the six different combatants engaged in their battles, unaware of what was happening inside of Naruto, and the power that was about to be unleashed.

* * *

Naruto rolled to the side, just barely dodging the fox as hit swiped it him with its paws. He made the hand sign for the Shadow Clone spell and created three clones of himself to aid him. The fox leaped into the air again and landed on one of the clones, knocking him out of existence. While it was momentarily distracted, the two remaining clones rammed into its side, knocking it over. The fox rolled on its side twice before sliding to a stop. It rose back up to its feet and growled angrily.

"Look buddy, I don't want to hurt you, but you're not leaving me much choice here!"

The fox gave no indication that it understood or cared about what he said. It charged him again, its four paws pounding against the concrete floor of his sewer-like inner mind. Naruto's two clones used a transformation spell and molded themselves into combat knives. The blond took both knives in hand and rolled underneath the fox as he landed. He was now completely behind the fox, and he jumped onto is back and stabbed one knife into each of its shoulder joints. The fox roared in pain and thrashed from side to side trying to throw him off somehow.

"You brought this on yourself ya furball!"

With a quick jerk to the left, the blond was suddenly thrown to the side and landed with a hard 'thud'. Before he knew it, the fox was upon him and had its front paws against his chest. It's jaws opened wide and its jaws came down, leaving him just a second to throw up his hands in defense. He caught the jaws before the fox had a chance to deal him a blow, but its sharp teeth were piercing into his palm, and his blood was leaking down his arms and off his hands.

The fox roared in rage right in his face, and Naruto screamed right back at him out of sheer spite. The teeth were getting closer despite his best efforts and his arms were beginning to burn from the strain. In an act of desperation, Naruto brought up his right leg and delivered a kick to the beasts underside.

He heard a yelp of pain and the fox immediately backed off. Naruto didn't waste any time and rolled backwards, slamming his back into a wall but successfully holding him up. He watched the fox creep around, stalking him, waiting to move in for the kill.

'_Okay Naruto, think, how are you gonna win this?'_

The fox charged forward again, and his heartbeat spiked. He didn't have any weapons on him, and shadow clones would only get him so far against this Juggernaut of a fox. There was still one last technique he could fall back on, but it would take timing and precision. He just hoped he could hold it long enough to work.

He brought together both his hands and began molding his magic just as the fox leaped into the air, it's claws reaching out and its jaws wide. He closed his eyes to block out the image and focused only on the spell he was preforming. He felt the rotation in his hand, then applied the power. Soon the orb was raging in between his palms, and his eyes shot open.

"Just need to hold it for a second here!" he growled to himself.

It was almost like watching everything in slow motion. It was a struggle to just keep the Rasengan together, but once the fox was in range, he knew what to do. He thrust his hand forward, the Rasengan heading straight for the fox's head.

"Try swallowing this!"

The Rasengan went straight into the fox's mouth and impacted the back of its throat. The spell may have been incomplete, but even in its weakened form it still had enough physical power to blow a hole through the back of the fox's head before it dissipated. The animal flew backwards and landed on the floor in a heap. Naruto instantly fell to his knees and panted.

"Oh thank God that's over!"

As he caught his breath, he watched as the fox that he had been battling was slowly dispersing into a weird red mist. Once the body was completely dissipated, the mist drifted over to Naruto and swirled around him.

"Woah, okay what's that!?"

All of sudden, his entire body started hurting. At first it was just a bunch of prickles, but it grew exponentially and it soon felt as if all his bones were being broken. He screamed in agony as the mist solidified into a sort of aura and began enveloping his body. As soon the aura completely took over his entire body, the pain faded away quickly, and it was replaced by a feeling of lightness. His entire body felt lighter, in fact, everything seemed brighter and the air smelled different than it did before.

He brought up his hand to look at it, but almost ended up smacking himself in the face, unprepared for how fast his movements were now. He blinked in disbelief for a moment, then grinned and turned to the stone wall he was standing near. He brought back his fist and threw a punch at the rock. Before when he punched something like rock, he would usually just chip away some of the top layer, or make some minor cracks in the surface, but this time, his punch carried enough left over energy to send cracks all the way across the length of the wall after his main punch, which buried almost his entire arm into the wall.

He pulled his arm out and surveyed the damage. He grinned to himself and nodded.

"Oh yeah, this'll be fun."

He quickly ran through the reverse of the hand signs Jiraiya taught him and felt the world shatter around him.

* * *

On the outside, Naruto's body was squished tightly in the summoned snakes esophagus. His eyes shot open suddenly and he growled; this was not what he was expecting when he woke up.

"Oh great, what is this!?" he shouted.

He could barely move his arms or legs, but took in a deep breath and calmed himself. He still felt the lightness he felt in his inner mind; things seemed easier and slower now, he could get out of this.

"Alright, let's see just how much of this demon power I can yank out," he said to himself and he closed his eyes again. He could feel it there, it was easier to grasp than before. Before it had just been this dim light in the back of his mind, but now he could literally feel it, and he grabbed ahold of it, taking as much as he could.

He felt his body begin to tingle, and he opened his eyes again. There was a orange-red energy leaking off his body, almost like he was on fire, but he felt no pain whatsoever.

"Well, no better time than now to give this a shot."

He gathered his magic together again and began rotating it in his right hand. He was amazed at how much easier it was now, the rotation was almost automatic, and even with all the power he was pumping into it, he felt much less drained than he used to. Holding it all together was still a bit difficult, but he found that this fiery energy that was coming from his body made it easier to keep it all in one place, like it was helping him hold it down.

In no time at all, a complete and stable Rasengan was in his hand. With a push of his muscles, he was able to push it against the squishy muscle of the snake's innards, and began driving through them like a drill.

* * *

Gamabunta deflected another blow from Orochimaru's summoned snake. Jiraiya glared at his former friend when something caught his eye. The left snake head's neck began to bulge outward. Just a moment after he noticed it, the snakes neck exploded in a shower of blood and the sage could have sworn he saw something fly out of it. This was soon confirmed as that something landed on Gamabunta's shoulder.

Jiraiya was able to make out patches of blond hair under the drenched layers of blood and saliva. The blond leaped up onto Gamabunta's head and landed right in front of Jiraiya. He could make it out in detail now; there was blond hair standing on end, a blood drenched orange T-shirt and jeans, ruby red eyes, and a orange-red fiery arua surrounding him.

"N...Naruto?" asked Jiraiya.

"Hey Jiraiya, hate to leave ya hangin' but I gotta move."

With that, the blond ran past him and off the side of Gamabunta's head, down his arm, and leaped down to the cliff where they had made camp. Kakashi and Kabuto had moved their battle further down the mountain, but Sasuke and Karen were still duking it out. As he flew down, he saw Karen charging at Sasuke with her new technique that Kakashi taught her, the Chidori. Her strike missed, but Naruto was impressed when he saw her blow away a huge chunk of the cliffside, causing a minature landslide.

Thanks to the strike she was off balance and unable to counter as Sasuke moved it for his strike. Just as he was about to make contact with a knife to the back, Naruto landed feet first and grabbed ahold of his wrist, squeezing tightly.

Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw Naruto not only alive, but with his demon powers active. The blond stood up straight and grinned when he met the raven haired demon hunters gaze.

"You know, there's only one thing that I can think to say right now."

He pulled Sasuke forward towards him and pulled back his other hand. The back of his free hand collided with Sasuke's cheek with loud 'thud' and he flew clear across the cliffside.

"Bitch-slap!"

**

* * *

**

**Now things start to heat up. Naruto's got a new trick up his sleeve now that his demonic abilities are now free to use, now the only problem is knowing how much of it he can control and using it correctly. Naruto and Sasuke have another showdown, and we see just how much of an advantage the fox powers give our favorite blond.**

**By the by, that last "bitch-slap" line, came from the DBZ abridged series. Check them out on Youtube, totally worth the watching.  
**

**Reviews are always welcome.**


	20. Chapter 20: Rage Uncaged

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 20

**Rage Un-caged**

Oh Jesus, I'm back again! I'm not dead! Yeah, I know I said I'd work more on my fanfics, but the last half of June was crazy, and I just totally forgot about this place up until a few days ago. I had about half of this done when I was forced to let it sit for a while, but at least it's here now, so let's get it rollin'! Lots of action this chapter, ya know, the whole Sasuke vs Naruto thing again, except this time Naruto's all hyped up on demon steroids. Should be fun.

(Yayz, I get to beat around Sasuke!)

* * *

Karen looked up from her failed attack. At first she had thought she was going crazy hearing Naruto's voice, but she had turned around to find him alive and well. Not only that, but with a drastic increase in power; he was radiating magical energy. He grinned, still looking off in the direction he had bitch-slapped Sasuke; he was clear on the other side of the cliff now.

"Karen," he said suddenly, drawing her attention, "don't worry about Sasuke, I'll get him. I've got a bunch of new tricks up my sleeve."

With that, Naruto began striding over to where Sasuke was recovering from the blow. Sasuke didn't waste any time activating his Sharingan. Naruto's movement speed had easily tripled; he'd need every advantage. However, despite the now clear danger his life was in, he couldn't help but be excited. He began to shake, not in fear, but anticipation.

"What's the matter bastard, ya scared?" mocked Naruto, still calmly walked towards him.

Sasuke smirked and wiped a smidge of blood from the side of his mouth. "Please, of a loser like you? I'm just excited; I get to beat your ass again."

Naruto put on a smirk of his own. "Pretty confident for a dead man, now turn on that freaky power of yours, otherwise this won't be any fun."

Sasuke didn't need any incentive to turn on his Curse Seal; he had planned on it anyway. He was confident but he wasn't stupid; there was no way he'd be able to beat Naruto without the seal's power. Sasuke's body was absorbed into a purplish black aura as the black marks crawled across his body. Now the two teens stood with opposing aura's surrounding their bodies, ready to duke it out to the end.

"I'll let you make the first move, for all the good it'll to ya," said Naruto.

Without warning, Sasuke leaped forward with speed that only an hour ago, Naruto would have been utterly unable to keep up with. Now though, it seemed to him that Sasuke was moving at half his actual speed. As Sasuke threw forward his first blow, Naruto simply twisted to the left, dodging the attack completely. As the demon hunter flew by him, he took the opportunity and grasped his ankle, whipping him back around smashing him into the side of the mountain.

Naruto stood over his temporarily defeated opponent sneering. "What, is that it, that's all you got?"

He got his answer a second later when out of the dust came a torrent of flames. He quickly took a clump of his demon aura and projected it in front of him, splitting the stream of fire around him in a 'Y' shape. The flames died as suddenly as they had began, and Naruto dropped his 'shield'. Just as the flames disappeared, Sasuke made his entrance, and capitalized on the split second between Naruto's shift from defense to offense, and grabbed onto his right arm. He twisted so Naruto's arm was over his shoulder, and thrust his left elbow back, delivering a blow to the blond's mid-chest. He was then flipped over Sasuke's shoulder and into the same mountain wall he had previously thrown Sasuke into.

Naruto quickly rolled to his feet and was very nearly introduced to the business end of Sasuke's chokuto. The blade impaled itself into the rock right in front of his face. Sasuke removed it and twisted it in his hands a few times before coming at him again. Naruto leaned left and right, ducked and jumped to avoid his bladed assault. He was able to avoid all the blows, the blade raining small sprinkles of sparks and leaving slash marks in the hard stone.

The blond jumped over another attack made by Sasuke and pushed off the rock, leaping right over his head. Sasuke whipped around and blocked a punch from Naruto, threw his arm out of the way, and thrust his blade forward. A mixed sensation of exhilaration and disappointment hit him as he ran Naruto through with his sword, the tip easily breaching his body and coming to a stop on the other side.

At first, Naruto looked shocked as he looked down at the sword resting in his stomach. Then he looked up to Sasuke, and grinned, and then exploded in a puff of smoke. Sasuke pulled his blade back, trying to get to a defensive position, but Naruto flew right out of the clone's smoke as soon as it exploded. Sasuke brought up his chokuto just in time to deflect Naruto's mid-air kick, but the blond twisted to the side in the air and slammed his free foot into the side of Sauske's head, sending him flying clear off the side of the cliff.

If one wasn't walking down the path that led down to the other sections of the mountain, it was a very steep drop, and Sasuke couldn't grab ahold of anything. He continued his plummet down to earth uninhibited. In a desperate attempt to halt his fall, he plunged his chokuto into the rock of the mountain. Splashes of sparks rained down on him as his blade chipped away at the stone.

After coming extremely close to slamming into the ground, he slowly but surely decreased in speed and finally come to a stop. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as he held onto the hilt of his sword for dear life, looking down at the remainder of the drop.

He couldn't believe this! Even with his Sharingan and Curse Seal active, Naruto's movements were still incredibly fast. Even when he'd encountered this demon power of his before, he still had never been this effective, this precise and powerful. His head was really in this fight, and unlike all those times before, he now had the skill to back his intelligence.

If he wanted to win this fight, he'd have to pull out all the stops.

All of them.

* * *

Naruto spat over the edge of the cliff where Sasuke had fallen. Having just beaten his ass down a mountain, he was feeling pretty good. The first thing on his list now was to get Karen safe, and after that, help out Kakashi. From the looks of things, Jiraiya was doing pretty well on his own with his big...toad...thing.

He ran back to the other side of the cliff and slid to a stop in front of Karen, who was still panting and leaning against the rock. He took her arm and threw it over his shoulder, supporting most of her weight and bringing her into the cavern.

"You gonna be alright?"

She nodded. "Just tired, that's all. Did you take care of Sasuke?"

"Yeah, he's outta the way for now."

Once they were deep enough in the cavern, Naruto set Karen down against one of the walls.

"Alright, just stay here and keep out of trouble. I'm gonna go help Kakashi."

Karen tried to stand up again. "No, I can help you, just give me a second."

"Oh no you don't, you stay right here. My job is to protect you, so let me do it; this fight will be over soon."

She had a defeated look on her face, but complied. With that, Naruto stood up straight and turned around to head back out to the cliffside.

"Naruto!"

He looked over his shoulder.

"Just be safe, alright?"

He grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "Come on, it's me."

She sighed as he left. "I know, that's why I'm worried."

* * *

Naruto ran down the path down to the lower levels of the mountain. He could clearly sense Kakashi's magic, everything seemed so much more defined than before, he could probably track him for another mile if he had to. Speaking of tracking magic, he could clearly sense a signature he really wish would just go away, and it was making a B-line for him. He skidded to a stop just as something collided with the mountainside. He threw his hand up to protect his eyes from the sudden upturn of dust and debris.

It was all suddenly wiped away as if by a giant fan, and Naruto could see clearly again. Naruto knew by his magical signature that Sasuke was back, but he looked completely different. The most obvious change were the two giant wings sprouting from his back. His skin was a dark gray and his hair had grown out.

"Back again?"

"You didn't think throwing me off a cliff would kill me did you?" he sneered.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you're right, bad plan in hindsight,"

"So what's your plan now, to fight me again dressed up like a transsexual demon? Come on, at least my transformations so far have looked cool."

Sasuke growled and expanded his wings outward. "Just shut up and fight me!"

He pushed off with a combination of his feet and wings and was on Naruto before he could react, he speed had moved past his again. Sasuke sacked Naruto and carried him into the air, high above the forest surrounding the mountains. They flew straight up into the air, and when they were easily miles above the peaks of the mountains, Sasuke let go, and Naruto plummeted down to earth.

Naruto reached for the back of his belt and found a small storage scroll, one that was only able to hold one item, and rolled it out. He released it's contents, a TDI Vector sub-machingun, and grasped it in his hand. Sasuke flew down after him, and Naruto opened fire. He tried to keep a steady aim, but when you're falling down to earth from an undetermined height at a near ninety degree angle shooting at an asshole who can fly, aiming is a bit difficult.

Sasuke continued to come in closer and closer, and Naruto ran out of ammo much faster than he would have liked. He threw the rifle at him, but missed completely, Sasuke had a huge advantage in the air. Sasuke came barreling fist first into Naruto's torso, and he could tell a few of his ribs snapped in his chest, but the pain faded as the damage was repaired by his accelerated healing.

Naruto grabbed both of Sasuke's wrists, threw the off to the side, and pulled up his right leg, nailing Sasuke's in the chin with the tip of his foot, then kicked off his chest with both feet, gaining distance and falling in a more streamline and aerodynamic posture. Sasuke flew down next to him, both of the heading downward side by side. The ground was coming up fast, and the sooner the better. Naruto was confident he could survive provided he cushioned the impact, but while he as in the air, Sasuke had free reign.

Only a few hundred feet left until they hit the ground, and Naruto built up his aura strictly around his hands. Sasuke suddenly flew to the side and smashed into Naruto, sending him into a spiral. Oddly enough, it actually ended up helping him. Once he was back in his streamline dive, he was still in his spiral, helping to disperse the energy more evenly.

The moment of truth came, the time of impact. Just as he was about to hit the ground, Naruto sent all of the pent up energy he gathered up until that point and released it in a spiraled surge, creating a drill-like cushion that absorbed the brunt of the force. The ground crumbled a bit from the force, and Naruto rolled forward after hitting the ground, and skidded across the grass until he came to a stop laying on his side.

Naruto pushed himself up with a groan as Sasuke came in for a landing, lightly planting his feet on the ground.

"That was pretty clever of you, creating an cushion out of your own magic energy. I've never seen anyone use it like that before. Still, using that much at once must have taken a lot out of you, and I'm sure that fall still hurt."

He slowly began walking to Naruto, who was back to his feet in a fighting stance.

"I'll admit something to you Naruto, fighting you has been the biggest challenge I've ever had. Every time we fight you seem to get stronger and stronger, a rapidly evolving opponent. But it doesn't matter, because every time you get a new trick, every time you pull something new out, I'm always prepared for it. You can't beat me Naruto, I'm better than you. Faster, stronger, smarter, and more powerful than you'll ever hope to be."

Naruto roared loudly as he leaped forward at Sasuke. "Shut the fuck up!"

Sasuke easily side-stepped the attack and roundhouse kicked Naruto in the gut in response. He was angry now, he was rash and getting sloppy. He took Naruto's head in both hands and lifted him up in the air and slammed in back down to the ground, planting his foot on his chest with a hard stomp.

"See what I mean? In this form, you can't win against me. Don't worry though, I'm not going to capture you like Orochimaru wants, I'm just going to kill you. I remember mentioning that before, and trust me, if you knew what was waiting for you, you'd be thanking me. Your fox bitch is next to. After I'm done here, I'm going back to that cave, and I'm gonna take my sword, and cut her fuckin' head off."

"I won't...let you!" he growled back.

Sasuke chuckled confidently. "How, you can't move? Once swipe and your head's gone to. It's checkmate for you Naruto, give up."

"No!" he shouted, and grabbed into Sasuke's leg and squeezed.

The sound of a crack filled the air immediately, and both of them knew Sasuke's leg was fractured. Naruto's aura began to flare up again, deepening from a wavy orange to a blood red color. It became less undefined and moved closer to his body, taking on an actual form instead of just flailing energy. It began to cover his body, at first just around his hand which was crushing Sasuke's leg, then crept up his arm. It soon enveloped his entire body.

"What the hell!?"

Sasuke pushed off with his wings and flew back. Naruto slowly stood back up again, his aura completely blood red and covering his entire body, it's form in the shape of a fox with one flowing tail sprouting from behind. He unleashed a loud roar, and the air practically exploded outward, causing Sasuke to put up both his arms to protect his eyes.

When the wind died down, he brought down his arms to see a slightly transparent red arm fly out towards him and grab him by the neck. He gagged as it clamped down on his esophagus, and felt it yank him forward. He saw Naruto pull his free fist back and knew what was coming as he flew forward in his grasp.

"Let's see you keep talking when I knock out all your teeth!" he yelled just as he drove his fist straight into Sasuke's face.

Sasuke flew back similar to when Jiraiya hit him with the Rasengan, flying straight through tree's and bouncing like a rubber ball off the ground. It took him a full ten seconds after he came to a rolling stop to actually realize that he had stopped moving. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, feeling extremely dizzy, and watching as blood dripped out of his mouth in small streams.

He grabbed the side of a tree and steadied himself. His leg was still sending shards of pain up through his body.

"Huh...looks like he's really pissed now; this should be good. He's so predictable, just bad mouth the bitch once and he throws me through a forest."

With that, he spread his wings and began to float a foot off the ground. He'd need to rely on his wings now that his leg was failing him.

"Let's get the real fight on."

**

* * *

Okay...so. Yeah, that was really just the warm-up. The fight will probably span at least most of next chapter if not the entire thing. Again, sorry about the long absence, I didn't realize how much stuff I had coming up when I said that, but I really am trying folks. Just bear with me alright. I don't know exactly when, but I am hellbent on finishing this story.**

**Feel free to review.**


	21. Chapter 21: Implementing Plan B

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 21

**Implementing Plan B**

Hey guys, I'm back from the dead. I really don't even have an excuse, I just didn't feel like working on this story, so I didn't. I was reading some Naruto fics the other day though, and I finally got in the mood again, so I whipped this little puppy up. If anyone actually remembers what was going on before this chapter, then congratulations.

I'm just gonna stop talking because at this point you don't even care what I'm saying, you just wanna read the chapter.

* * *

Sasuke quickly found that he had an extreme dislike of magical extending red claws. Even in midair those claws were annoying and quite deadly, and somewhere along the way his Chokuto had been knocked from his hand and into the forest. He quickly came to the conclusion that flying higher into the air wasn't doing him much good. He instead stayed low to the ground, not wanting to waste energy on something that wasn't working anyway, especially now that he was weaponless.

His leg was busted, so he had to rely on his wings to move, attack, and evade. Naruto on the other hand, not only had recovered from his previous injuries, but had gotten stronger, probably surpassing Sasuke's current strength. The battle exhilarated and frustrated him at the same time. On the one hand, he was having the time of his life fighting such a strong opponent to the death, but on the other hand, he knew he had an objective to complete; to kill the fox-bitch.

Why Orochimaru wanted her dead, Sasuke didn't know, but it wasn't his job to ask too many questions. He was a demon hunter, killing demons was what he did. There were two plans of action in place. Plan A was to capture Naruto and kill the girl, Plan B however was to capture the girl and use her for leverage to get Naruto, and then kill the girl. He'd already decided to ignore orders and kill Naruto, both out of desire, and respect; he'd just lie and come up with an excuse. Orochimaru would be pissed, but he wouldn't kill him.

The demon hunter was pulled from his thoughts when one of Naruto's extendable claws came mere inches from taking his head off. He rolled in the air to the left and increased his speed, trying to remain as aerodynamic as possible. He came barreling into Naruto, who at the last moment threw his weight forward to intercept Sasuke. Sasuke has the advantage of more kinetic energy, and was able to overpower Naruto, knocking him back until the blond regained his footing and slid to a stop.

Naruto shot out another claw at Sasuke, who had retreated back after slamming into him. He saw it coming and flew over it, but wasn't able to move quickly enough to dodge the second which came right behind it. With Sasuke in his grip, Naruto proceeded to whip him around and extend his claw at the same time until he was able to smash his opponent into the treeline. Naruto yanked his claw around in a full 360 degree circle, smashing Sasuke through tree after tree.

When he completed the circular beating, he brought the claw closer and threw Sasuke up into the air. At first, Sasuke began to think Naruto had made an error and he had the advantage again being the air, but he severely underestimated the blonds jumping power. In the time it took Sasuke to look back down at the ground to check for Naruto, he had already leaped into the air above him, and came down hard with the heel of his boot to the back of Sasuke's head.

The boy flew straight down to the ground, whirling like a pinwheel all the way until he finally collided with the dirt. After a moment, gravity began to take effect and Naruto began to fall as well. He straightened himself out, and dived downward like a precision missile. Sasuke, who was laying on his back in a crater below, ran through some hand-signs to conjure up a spell he hoped would at least slow Naruto down.

"_Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique_!"

Sasuke fired dozens of small fireballs at Naruto. The attack would have little to no effect on him, he knew that already, but it was more of a distraction than an attack anyway. With the glowing fire flying through the sky and blocking Naruto's vision, Sasuke was able to fool Naruto into thinking he was attacking instead of escaping, and the blond smashed right into the ground practically headfirst thinking Sasuke was still there.

Sasuke floated just a foot or so off the ground, staring at the impact site, waiting for Naruto to reveal himself again. A minute passed and still no movement; it was much to quiet. You can imagine his surprise then, when Naruto did finally show up, but not in the manner he had expected.

Naruto, instead of simply walking out of the crater, came up from underground, right below Sasuke's feet. Dirt flew everywhere and stung Sasuke's eyes while Naruto roared and delivered a jaw busting uppercut. Sasuke was knocked into the air again, and once again, Naruto went after him and grabbed both his shoulders. His aura burned and eroded his flesh. With a mighty yank back, Naruto drew him in and landed an aerial drop-kick to his stomach.

Naruto then grabbed him by the head and slammed him into the ground as they both fell. With a beaten Sasuke in his hand, Naruto grabbed him both his arms and pulled him towards him. A loud thunk echoed through the clearing as both their skulls collided. Naruto's aura protected him from most of the impact, but Sasuke wasn't so lucky.

With that, he let the raven haired demon hunter fall to the ground. Sasuke growled and groaned as he held his head. Aching pain coursed through his skull, and he suspected a concussion was all but inevitable.

He rolled back, trying desperately to get away from his opponent and recover. Naruto didn't stop him; he stood over him with the obvious advantage.

"Give up Sasuke, your leg is busted, and you can hardly sit up, let alone stand and fight," Naruto growled.

Sasuke growled back and ground his teeth as he defied Naruto's words. He sat up shakily and –with the help of his wings- was able to get back into a position where he could offer some sort of resistance.

"We'll see; I've got someone else I have to kill, and I won't die before I do. Break my bones and send cocky remark at me all you want Naruto, nothing short of you ripping my head from my shoulders will stop me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "If that's what it takes to keep you away from Karen, consider it done."

The blond wasted no more time in lunging forward and grasping at Sasuke. The attack missed as Sasuke ducked underneath it, and he took the slight opening and grabbed Naruto's ankles. With a strong heave, he swung Naruto back over his head, and slammed him down to the ground.

Not wanting to lose the momentum, Sasuke came down on Naruto with his good leg, kneeing him in the stomach and pinning him down. He threw a flurry of punches into his face, knocking the blonds head from side to side. He would have continued long afterwords to if I hadn't been for Naruto suddenly shoving both into Sasuke's chest and released a demonic pulse, blowing him backwards.

With Sasuke laying on his back, Naruto stood back up, feeling his jaw pop back into place after Sasuke knocked it completely out of place. He walked forward to Sasuke again as he massaged his cheeks.

Sasuke still wouldn't give up, and came at him again head on. At this point, Naruto was guessing he was just looking for any hit he could get. The blond braced himself and caught Sasuke by the shoulders when he came at him. He was pressed back a few feet, and he left tracks in the ground where his feet had dug in, but he had still stopped him.

With the advantage his once again, Naruto kneed Sasuke in the stomach as he had kneed him, and then finished it with a high kick to his chin. Sasuke flew back again, practically doing a back flip, and landing almost ten feet away.

Naruto walked up to him, inspecting his condition. He was pretty badly beaten, and his leg looked like it would shrivel up and fall off any minute now. He was still determined to keep the fight going though, and he latched onto Naruto's leg, squeezing as tightly as he could, which wasn't much at this point, and attempting to get up again.

Naruto simply lifted his free foot and applied some pressure to Sasuke's shattered leg. The pain was enough to make him let go as his fingers instead went to the dirt and dug into the ground. With another nudge of the leg, he slid Sasuke away from him another ten feet.

It looked like Sasuke was really done this time. Naruto wasn't sensing much power left in him; his scent was getting exponentially weaker. Still, he never stopped trying to get back up.

Naruto decided it was time for this to come to an end, he had to get back to Karen, he didn't like leaving her alone in this sort of situation. He lifted his left hand and extended his aura claw, grabbing Sasuke by the neck. The demon hunter grasped at it in a weak resistance, but he couldn't make it budge.

With his target secure, Naruto then lifted his right hand, and began building up chakra in his palm. He rotated it, packing it together with his aura as a stabilizer, and soon he had a glowing Rasengan in his palm. Sasuke recognized the technique as the same Jiraiya had used on him, and he squirmed even harder to break loose.

"You should have given up."

With that, he pulled Sasuke back towards him and thrust out the Rasengan. The swirling orb hit his mid-torso, just below his ribcage. Naruto let go of his neck and the blow sent him flying back instantly, well beyond the treeline surrounding them and Naruto's vision.

Even without seeing him though, he could hear the crashes as he was knocked into trees and the ground. After a moment the noise ceased, and all the quiet. Naruto could sense Sasuke was unconscious and barely alive, and that the battle, for him at least, was over.

His aura dropped slowly, and Naruto suddenly felt much more fatigued. He dropped his knees, holding up his weight with the help of his arm.

"You're lucky…Sasuke," he muttered to no one in particular though ragged breaths.

"I really…really wanted to kill you…but there are…too many questions I…need answered."

He looked back up at the higher area of the mountain where Karen was and Jiraiya was fighting with Orochimaru. It looked like his godfather was doing pretty well. The only person unaccounted for was Kakashi. He remembered sensing him nearby, and while he was too tired to be able to pick him out accurately, he did have the general direction in mind.

Orochimaru was distracted, so if he could help Kakashi beat Kabuto, they both might be able to help Jiraiya finish him off. Naruto began running as fast as he could manage into the forest, which wasn't too fast considering his already fatigued state. As it so happened however, he ended up running right into Kakashi on his way to find him. As they both recovered from their slight collision, Naruto immediately began asking questions.

"Kakashi, did you beat Kabuto?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, we were fighting, and he managed to partially paralyze my leg. He ran off before I could stop him. He's heading for the mountain right now to get to Karen. You need to go after him, I can still walk, but I'm no where near fast enough in my current state to catch up to him in time. Leave me and go and save her."

Naruto nodded and began running faster than he had before. His legs burned and he was almost bone dry on adrenaline, but he kept on running towards the path that led up the mountain. He had to get there in time; he had a promise to keep.

* * *

Karen held onto the rock wall with both hands as everything around her quaked. Two giant animals brawling outside would shake pretty much anything up. Jiraiya had been fighting out there the entire time, and Naruto had been gone a while as well; she was really getting worried. Her hopes were raised though, when through the rumbles of the battle raging outside, she heard footsteps echoing against the cave walls and reverberating all the way to her.

She jogged out into the passage that led to the outside, hoping desperately to see Naruto grinning confidently, but she didn't. In fact, she didn't see anyone. She cocked her head and scratched her head, wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her. She inhaled through her nose and smelled something within the cave; she had heard someone.

She looked from right to left, up and down, but she didn't see anyone, but she did feel something brush against her tail. Her eyes widened and she was about to whip around when she felt a hand come over her mouth and another on her back. There was a tingling sensation that ran up and down her spine for a moment, then she suddenly felt very light headed and soon enough, all she saw was black.

The very moment she went down though, Naruto swung around the corner into the cavern just in time to see Kabuto reveal himself from his cloaking. He had a sneer on his face, and had his arm now wrapped around Karen's neck.

Naruto was about to charge right at him when Kabuto shook his finger at him. "Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do anything hasty now. I do have a hostage you know, and I have no fear of killing her."

The blond growled. "Why are you guys doing this, Karen's never done anything to deserve this! Just leave her alone, she's lost enough as it is!"

"I have no doubt that this girl is an innocent soul. However a simple vendetta isn't what motivates us; in reality, this girl you protect so devoutly, is far more dangerous to the world than you know. In the wrong hands, she could bring about unbelievable destruction, and those wrong hands are at work right now just waiting for the proper opening to grasp her. For my masters own dreams and desires to be fulfilled, this girl must die, to ensure that the catastrophe she could very well bring about never comes to pass."

Naruto stepped back, not believing what he was hearing. "W-what are you talking about, Karen would never do something like that, she wouldn't destroy the world."

Kabuto grinned. "Not on her own, no. She possesses something that makes her unique though, she possesses the power of influence. The Kitsune people are desperate for a new leader; their society is beginning to crumble with a throne-less kingdom. There's no price to high for them at this point; if someone demanded even the most unreasonable item or privilege, they would grant it if it mean this girls head on a pike. There's a group out there, right now as we speak, who are aiming to capture this girl and manipulate the Kitsune society for their own goals. What those goals are is unknown, but one thing is for certain, this girl is the most important and vital piece, the queen if you will."

"The FBPS can protect her! As long as she's kept secret then they'll never know where she is! You don't have to do this!"

Kabuto shook his head. "Were you listening at all? The Kitsune, her people, are becoming a degenerating civilization, they won't last more than a few years before they're in permanent decline, and even a new leader won't be able to repair the damage. Are you willing to let an entire race of beings rot and die for one girl? Besides, if word were to ever get out that the FBPS was harboring this girl -and believe me, there are people who know and are willing to rat you out- how do you think that would look? It could very well spark a conflict beyond anything you could possibly imagine."

"I know the risks, but I can't let you hurt Karen; there's always another way, there has to be a way to satisfy everyone where Karen doesn't die! There has to be something I can do to convince you to let her go! I'll do anything, whatever you want!" Naruto begged.

The silver haired doctor's grin grew even larger, this was what they were hoping for, this blind devotion was so easy to use against him. He would have him in hand in a few moments, and he'd never know about the micro-explosive attached to the base of her skull. "There is one thing."

"What is it, name it!"

"I want you to come with us. Your demonic abilities intrigue me, you're the first person in quite some time to receive the Kitsune's Gift, and it's never been studied in any real detail before. If you volunteer yourself for a few science experiments, then I'll let this little fox go."

Naruto wasted no time in answering. "Done deal."

Checkmate.

"Very well, come to me slowly and I'll set her down. I warn you though, try anything at all and she'll die, I can guarantee that."

Naruto nodded and took a few slow steps forward. For every step forward, Kabuto set Karen closer and closer to the ground. He had to fight off the urge to grin, this was working so smoothly, and Naruto was so predictable.

He was about halfway there when there was a sudden a voice rang out. "Naruto!"

They both looked to the entrance of the cavern and saw Kakashi. He was a bit dirtier from trekking through the forest with a slightly limp leg, but overall he was alright. Naruto also noticed that his previously covered eye, wasn't so covered anymore, and it was red, a red he'd seen before. He wasn't sure how, but Kakahshi had a Sharingan. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Kabuto.

"Let her go Kabuto, I might be weakened but I'm not out of the fight. You're outnumbered and there's no getting out of here."

He was right, he was outnumbered. With Kakashi here everything went down the drain, he'd never get Naruto with him there. He supposed he could still complete the mission by killing the girl, but then he would be hostage-less and he would most likely be killed as well, and that didn't appeal to him one bit. He supposed he would have to go with an option in between. He'd just have to escape with the girl and then devise a way to lure Naruto to them. Then Lore Orochimaru would have the girl, and he'd have his guinea pig.

Kabuto grinned like a madman and slipped his hand into his back pocket. "I'll admit Kakashi, you foiled my attempts at killing two birds with one stone, but I'm hardly trapped. Lord Orochimaru considered the possibility the one who got the the girl might end up trapped, which is why each of us came prepared."

He pulled his hand out again and held up a striking red feather. Kakashi knew what he meant now and knew he had to act quickly. "Naruto, we have to stop him!"

Before Naruto could even ask why, Kabuto yelled out the command:_ "Althielo!"_

Instantly Kabuto seemed to be pulled forward at extremely fast speeds, and slammed into Naruto, knocking him off his feet, and flying right past Kakashi out of the cavern. After that, he flew straight up into the air, and as Naruto and Kakashi both watched, he flew off with Karen into the horizon. Orochimaru, seeing that they had at least one of their targets, followed suit with his own Phoenix Feather, and he also disappeared from sight in a matter of moments.

Naruto stood there for a moment, absorbing what had just happened, and fell to his knees. Without even realizing it, tears were falling down his face, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from where he had last seen them. He failed, plain and simple. He was assigned to protect her, he promised to protect her, and he didn't, he screwed up.

Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. "You tried your hardest Naruto. We'll get her back."

Jiraiya dispelled Gamabunta and jumped down to the cliff as well. He'd seen the whole thing, including Karen flying past in the hands of Kabuto, and knew his godson would be extremely sensitive at this point. He sighed and sat down next to him.

"I know how you must be feeling right now kid, trust me. If its any consolation, I think she would have been extremely thankful of how much you did for her, and she can thank you herself when we find her."

"I failed...there was more I could have done, I was too slow! I was too busy dealing with Sasuke that I forgot..."

They both looked at him expectantly.

"You forget...what?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto suddenly stood up. "I know how we can find her."

Kakashi and Jiriaya looked at each other in confusion as Naruto stormed off back down the mountain.

* * *

Sasuke was still laying in the forest from Naruto's Rasengan. He'd just barely regained consciousness, and wondered how much time had passed since he was knocked out. He groaned as the pain washed over him like a cruel shower. He was able to hear footsteps coming from beyond the trees, but he didn't dare turn his head to find out, it hurt too much as it was.

He soon got his answer anyway. He saw the spiky trough of blond hair as he stepped over him and knelt down. Naruto grabbed him by the neck and yanked his head up. Sasuke would have screamed if he had the energy.

There was something different about Naruto than before though. He was back to his normal self, but his eyes still had that burning rage in them that said 'I want to kill you'.

"I've got a few questions for you," he growled, tightening his grip around Sasuke's neck, "and you'd better give me the right answers."

**

* * *

And Naruto's pissed as Hell.** **His best friend/love interest has just been kidnapped right in front of him, and he's about ready to rip everyone's head off. If anyone has any questions that don't force me to go on a spoiler frenzy, then don't hesitate to review or drop me a PM. I'll see ya next chapter, and I honestly have no godly idea when that will be.**

**Review in the meantime!  
**


	22. Chapter 22: Truce

Caught in the Middle

Chapter 22

**Truce**

Hey guys! Well, I died last month, and it took me until now to convince Satan to let me use his computer. He's a Mac user, just to clear it up.

Anyway, in all seriousness, I was really just taking a break from fan fiction for a while. I apologize for not giving you guys a heads up before hand. No guarantee's as to when you'll see me again after this either, but just know that I'm **not** abandoning the story.

Oh, and just as a little announcement, I have a Deviantart account now and the link to it is on my profile. Just click where it says Homepage.

* * *

Every inch of his body ached. Sasuke's eyes cracked open; even the dim light that reached into the cavern stung his eyes. The resulting discomfort forced an unintentional groan to escape his throat, alerting those nearby of his newly gained consciousness. He heard footsteps getting exponentially louder, but didn't dare open his eyes yet.

When the footsteps were right on top of him, he felt someone grasp his neck and force his head up slightly at an angle which forced out an even louder groan as the tight grip agitated his sensitive nerves. He worked up some courage and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a trough of blond hair, and glowing blue orbs staring back at him.

As his vision came into focus, everything became more detailed. He saw Naruto kneeling down in front of him; he was the one with the hand around his neck.

"You…let me live huh?" Sasuke coughed out.

Naruto scowled. "Against my better judgment; you've got some info I need."

Sasuke chuckled, or at least he tried. It came out as more of a cough. "So they got your bitch, right?"

Without a second a warning, Naruto cocked back his fist and slammed it into Sasuke's cheek. In his weakened and aching state, the blow rocked pain through his body worse than it would have. Blood and saliva leaked from his mouth and onto the rocky ground.

"Easy Naruto, you don't kill your prisoners," said a calmer voice. After a moment of recovery, Sasuke glanced up and saw Kakashi, his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall. The blond pretended not to hear him. He forcibly grabbed Sasuke's collar and whipped him back into a straight up sitting position.

"Where the hell is Karen? Tell me or I swear to God I'll make you eat your own dick!"

"I've got nothing to say to you," Sasuke grumbled back, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

Naruto raised his fist to smash Sasuke's face into the wall when Kakashi grabbed his wrist and stopped him. He snarled up at his teacher, but made no move to try and overpower him. Wordlessly, the masked man pulled him up and to another section of the cave, leaving Sasuke alone. Once they were in a private area, Kakashi came to a stop.

"Why'd you make me stop?" he demanded.

"You're never going to get anywhere just beating the answers out of him. He's a tough nut to crack, and even then he just might start making things up. He may be working with Orochimaru, but we don't know exactly how much he knows."

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed out an angry breath. "So what then?"

"You attack him psychologically," came a gruff voice behind them. Naruto turned his head and saw Jiraiya walking back into the cave after meditating outside for some time.

"Physical torture isn't exactly smiled up Naruto, and regardless it wouldn't be effective against someone as motivated as Sasuke anyway. What we need to do is attack from the inside, pull on some strings and press some buttons."

"But I don't know anything about him. The database had info his criminal record and his physical description, but nothing about his past. I don't have a thing on him."

Jiraiya and Kakashi glanced at each other, which Naruto easily caught. Now he was wondering what the two were thinking.

"Naruto, there is something you can use against him. A few years back there was an…incident," started off Kakashi.

"You see," Jiraiya picked up, "Sasuke's family was a lot like the Hyuuga, and I'm sure you've bumped into a few of them. They had a long line of operatives in the family, so much so it eventually became tradition to joint the FPBS. They even had their own nanite battle systems design specifically for their family, also like the Hyuuga."

"So what happened to change all that?"

"They were wiped out. It happened during an Uchiha family reunion. The ultimate irony of it all was that Itachi Uchiha, probably one of the greatest agents the FBPS ever had, and Sasuke's own brother was the one who committed the act. He simply walked into the party and killed everyone, save for Sasuke. After that, they both dropped off the grid for a while, then Sasuke resurfaced a few years later and that's where his criminal record starts up," the sage explained.

"I see, so his brother took out his own family. Well that explains why he's such a huge dick most of the time."

Naruto looked over in the general direction of Sasuke and made his way back to where they were keeping him. "Be back in a minute."

When he returned, Sasuke was still sitting quietly with his eyes closed, not making any unnecessary movements. It didn't worry the blond, even if he did escape –which would have been a miracle in itself- he would never be able to out run or hide from all three of them. He was stuck until the rest of his wounds healed.

"So," he began, leaning against the opposite wall, "Itachi sounds like a fun guy."

Sasuke's reaction was instantaneous. His eyes shot open and he tried with all his might to break the ropes that held him down, but it was no good. He was too weak to do much of anything at this point.

"Wow, that perv of a sage was right, that is a soft spot," Naruto chuckled. As much as he hated to admit it, he sort of liked watching Sasuke squirm for a change, instead of the other way around. He found a twisted humor in it, of course some of that could be his anger talking.

"Shut up you damn fool! Do you have any clue what that bastard put me through?" he shouted back, still harming only himself as he clashed with his bindings. Naruto was upon him in and instant, closing the distance between the two walls faster than Sasuke could blink. The blond grasped Sasuke's neck again and pressed him against the rock behind him.

"Not really; I don't think I could imagine what it's like to be on your own like that. Sure, you and I are in the same boat since we're both orphans, but at least I had a good home and someone to take care of me. And you know what Sasuke, if it weren't for the fact that you've done nothing but try to kill me and Karen for the past three months, I'd probably be pretty sympathetic towards you. As it stands though, if this is what everyone in your family was like, then I'm nominating your brother for a fucking Nobel Peace Prize!"

Sasuke screamed back right into his face and Naruto head-butt him in response. It was only after that did he remember Kakashi told him it probably wasn't a good idea to hit the prisoners, but fuck it, he was pissed.

"Now tell me where Karen is!"

"Fuck off!"

Naruto snarled and pressed Sasuke's head against the wall again. "Listen you shit, I may not know what it's like to have my entire family killed, but you know who does; Karen! Me, Kakashi, the FBPS, we were her new family, and you had to take that away from her! You know who that makes you like, it makes you like Itachi!"

"You don't know fucking anything!" he screamed back.

"The hell I don't! What's your role in all this anyway, what's the goddamn point of working with Orochimaru? Is this some deal for power or some shit, is that it, is this so you can go out and kill your brother? You're so damn stupid; yeah, I'd wanna kill him to, but what's the point of devoting your whole life to it. What're you going to do when he's finally dead, what'll be your reason for living then? You'll have no purpose!"

If he could, Sasuke would have covered his ears. The demon hunter was on the verge of tears, desperately trying to convince himself that what Naruto was saying wasn't true. "Shut up damn you, I'm not listening!"

"I really don't fucking care; you might be a lost cause, but Karen isn't! You'd better believe I'd walk through Hell and back to save her; no way am I letting some pale jackass with a snake fetish and some loser with big brother issues get in my way! I love her damn it; love, that word mean anything to you or am I screaming at the walls?"

At this point Sasuke was just randomly screaming to try and block out as much of Naruto's yelling as possible. All it was really serving to do was piss Naruto off further. Eventually he got sick of it and slammed his fist into Sasuke's cheek again, knocking him over onto his side.

The screams stopped instantly, and instead were replaced with soft sobs and ragged breaths. Naruto panted as well, his vocal cords starting to feel the effects of all that yelling.

With neither of them having anything left to say, Naruto got up and left Sasuke to wallow in his own sorrow.

* * *

Later on in the evening of that day, Naruto was sitting outside the cavern meditating. Not something he normally did, but he felt he could really use a clear mind for the days ahead. Sasuke had gone into a practically catatonic state since his screaming their screaming match, despite two further attempts to get info out of him.

Kakashi had left for the city while things were still under relative control to inform HQ of everything that had happened. While they pumped Sasuke for the location of Orochimaru, the FBPS could come up with a game plan on how to resolve this. Personally, Naruto didn't care what the FBPS said, hell the UN could bitch and moan to him for all he cared; he'd go after Karen regardless, even if it was alone; if he was given the green light, great, but he wasn't taking no for an answer.

He heard a pair of footsteps from behind him. He could sense it was Jiraiya, so there was no cause for alarm.

"Whatever you said to him, it really hit home kid," the sage commented.

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true. How did you not hear me anyway, I was screaming at the top of my lungs?"

The old man sat down next to his pupil. "Well between the echo between the two parts of the cave, and the Uchiha kids unintelligible screaming, it was kinda hard to make out any details in the conversation."

"Yeah well, I'll try again tomorrow, for now I'm gonna go relax a little and hit the hay, I'm pretty exhausted."

The blond hopped up and headed back inside the cavern. Before he was quite there though, Jiraiya called out to him, to which he turned around.

"Don't worry about Karen, we'll find her, she's a survivor. Besides, the universe usually has a funny way of bringing two people who love each other together."

His face immediately went beet red. "I thought you said you couldn't make out details in the conversation."

"I said it was "kinda" hard, not impossible. In all fairness it was obvious from the start, but it's always nice to have confirmation."

Naruto sighed heavily and covered the rest of the distance between him and his bedroll; he intended to finish off the day with at least a little dignity intact.

* * *

Meanwhile, miles and miles away back at Orochimaru's base outside Konoha city, Karen was just awakening after being unconscious for who knows how long. Her head was pounding, and it was dark, very dark. As she sat up, she felt metallic rattling and scraping. A few seconds later her vision cleared up, and she could see strong shackles attached to both her wrists, connected to the stone walls of her cell. She assumed with all this rock she was underground.

She tugged at the chains expecting them to break. After all, she'd broken through stronger material before. As it was though, she couldn't even make it budge; it was like her strength had been sapped away. Even as she continued her vain attempts at freedom, she could hear an amused chuckle.

"Don't bother girly, you're magic is being drained from your body. There's no way for you to resist."

She looked up and past the bars that divided her from the rest of the prison. There stood a man with silver hair like Kakashi's, but with large circular glasses that seemed to gleam maliciously in the dark.

"Who are you?" she grunted.

"My name is Kabuto, and I'm Lord Orochimaru's second in command; you're his temporary guest."

Karen stumbled as she tried to get up, leaning against the bars for support. "I don't understand. First you guys want to kill me, now you're capturing me, what gives?"

Kabuto raised a curious eyebrow. "You don't know yet? That's surprising considering how many times you've encountered Sasuke and how much the boy loves to monologue. He's an exceptional fighter for his age, but he simply talks too much. I suppose that's a trait he and Naruto share, hm?"

He shook his head. "Anyway, I think I'm getting a little off track. If you really want to know, it's because it would be preferable if Naruto were to fall into our possession, and there's no better way to do that than to capture you. Not only does your capture complete one of our objectives, but it will feed the boys anger more than anything we could have done short of, say, massacre all his friends in the city nearby. That, however, wouldn't be the primary choice of action; it draws too much attention to this area."

He then laughed to himself again and lightly tapped his own head. "And there I go, starting to ramble again. Well anyway, you really don't need to concern yourself with it. Soon Naruto will come here; brash, bold, and guns blazing, and attempt to fight his way to you until he's overwhelmed. After that, he's my personal little dissection toy to study."

Karen's head was still spinning, and she leaned further on the bars to hold hersult up. "How do you know Naruto will come to save me; he probably doesn't even know where I am."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that. You see Sasuke's been captured by your friends, but what he doesn't know it we intentionally left him behind as a messenger. I have no doubt they'll pump him for information, and even he's only human. Eventually he'll give them our location."

Disgusting; they even betrayed their own comrades. She held no love for Sasuke, that much was true, but to be sold off by the people you fought side by side with was even lower that she suspected they would go. He was an ass, but at least he had_ some_ sort of code of honor.

"Anyway, ta-ta for now," Kabuto grinned before turning to his left and striding down the hall, out of the prison.

Now she was left alone. Karen slumped down against the back wall of her cell in defeat. She had no power, no means of escape, and worst of all she was bait for a trap everyone knew her best friend would gladly walk into if it meant her safety. She sighed angrily. She needed a plan or something to get her out of here. She couldn't just sit here waiting for a rescue she knew was doomed to failure; she'd have to rely on Kitusne resourcefulness and her own know how to get her out.

For now though, she was still exhausted, dizzy, and more than a little nauseous; she needed sleep. Slowly she eased herself onto the hard and jagged floor, using her arm as a pillow, and tried her best to get sleep.

* * *

The next day in Japan, Naruto scratched his head as he lifted himself up from his bedroll. He quickly rummaged through his belongings and slipped on some fresh clothes. He wasn't sure of Jiraiya was awake or not, but still, he wanted to get a crack at Sasuke again as soon as possible.

He strode across the cavern through the small arch that led into the second room holding Sasuke. The teenage demon hunger was still well bound against the wall. As Naruto's shoes ground against the rocky floor, it was all the audible stimulation Sasuke needed to lift up his head. His eyes were bloodshot, but his stare was rock hard as always.

"Morning sleeping jackass," mocked Naruto.

He grunted as his eyes began to droop.

Naurto sighed but sat down. "So, am I gonna have to make you cry like a pussy again, or can we finally do this the easy way?"

"I was up all night," Sasuke mumbled.

"I didn't sleep; I couldn't, I was too busy thinking. That bastard Orochimaru left me to die; he was a Sannin, he could have gotten me out before he left but he didn't."

Naruto scratched his head uninterested. "Yeah well, when you decide to start talking about stuff I care about, tell me."

"I'm gonna kill him," Sasuke growled.

"Good luck with that, you're kinda captured."

"That why I'm going to help you."

Now Naruto perked up, the sentence having grabbed his attention to the fullest. He'd never expected the words 'help you' to be directed at him in a positive.

"You're going to help me? In case you forgot we're arch enemies, you know the whole mutual death wish thing? We've been trying to kill each other for the last three months."

Sasuke nodded. "I know, and don't think this is permanent, I'm still going to kill you. For now though, I want Orochimaru dead way more than you, and as much as I hate to admit it, I can't beat him on my own."

Naruto crossed his arms. "So the enemy of my enemy is my friend, eh?"

"For now," Sasuke quickly corrected.

In response the blond nodded. "For now."

Just then, they both heard a bellowing voice. "Naruto, you awake yet?"

The sage found his way into Sasuke's holding area only moments later.

"Jiraiya," said Naruto in a serious tone, "if you can, get a hold of Kakashi, I think we might finally have a game plan."

**

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I know, not exactly a great presentation after such a long absence, but just roll with it. The climax is coming, it really just depends on how fast I update, and we all know that's not particularly fast. You guys must have the patience of saints to keep reading after all this time.**

**Review anyway.  
**


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